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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  LIBRARY  AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


A TREATISE 


)omestic  Education 


REV.  DANIEL  A.  PAYNE,  D.D..LL.D., 

jnior  Bishop  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


CINCINNATI : 

PRINTED  BY  CRANSTON  & STOWE 
For  the  Author. 


Copyricrht  by 

DANIEL  ALEXANDER  PAYNE, 
1885. 


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DEDICATORY. 


TO  THE 

©uejtjfful  Raiders  Qtyd  ll)(Z,  e^rjxiou s I¥)®ll) 
©^  E^epy  fierce 

IS  THIS  LITTLE  VOLUME 

Respectfully  and  lovingly  dedicated 


©PS 


BY 


©HE  flUCTHO^. 


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894472 


PREFACE. 


TT  7ITH0UT  apology  I send  forth  my  thoughts 
^ * on  the  great,  absorbing  question  of  Chris- 
tian Education  in  its  domestic  form,  and  this  I 
do  with  no  desire  to  appear  as  a literary  man, 
panting  for  literary  fame;  but  because  it  is  a duty 
laid  upon  my  heart  and  inspiring  all  my  thoughts 
from  early  manhood  to  old  age. 

My  book  is  not  designed  for  instruction  in  the 
common-school,  nor  the  high-school,  nor  the  col- 
lege; but  for  the  home ; not  for  the  recitation 
room,  but  for  the  nursery  and  the  fireside. 

The  duty  which  impels  my  hand  to  write  this 
book,  and  the  love  which  inspires  its  sentiments, 
is  a duty  and  a love  resulting  from  actual  labors 
in  the  school-house,  and  intensified  by  close  and 
extensive  observations  in  the  families  among 
whom  it  has  been  my  high  privilege  to  sojourn, 
both  in  my  native  land  and  in  foreign  countries. 

As  for  the  thoughts,  the  sentiments,  and  the  prin- 

5 


6 


PREFACE. 


ciples  embodied  in  it,  they  have  been  formulating 
themselves  for  about  fifty-five  years. 

Moreover,  as  Christianity  is  given,  not  for 
the  benefit  of  any  particular  race,  but  to  confer 
infinite  blessings  upon  all  mankind,  so,  also, 
Christian  education  is  divinely  designed  not  to 
confer  exclusive  privileges  upon  any  chosen  peo- 
ple; but  to  enlighten,  improve,  and  develop  into 
perfection  humanity  as  a whole  unbroken  unit, 
consequently  to  develop  into  the  'highest  possible 
human  perfection  every  child  of  Adam. 

To  this  divine  end , ordained  by  the  Omniscient 
Father  of  humanity,  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  my  humble  volume  is  wholly  consecrated. 
To  this  glorious  end  I beseech  our  Lord  and  Savior 
Jesus  Christ  to  command  his  benedictions  upon 
the  efforts  of  the  author. 

DANIEL  ALEXANDER  PAYNE. 

Evergreen  Cottage,  Wilberforce,  Ohio. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE. 

INTRODUCTION, 9 

CHAPTER  I. — The  Training  of  Children,  ....  15 

CHAPTER  II. — First  Condition  of  Successful 

Child-training, 23 

CHAPTER  III. — Second  Condition  of  Successful 

Child-training, 28 

CPIAPTER  IV. — Third  Condition  of  Successful 

Child-training, 39 

CHAPTER  V. — Fourth  Condition  of  Successful 

Child-training, 44 

CHAPTER  YI. — When  to  Begin  the  Training  of 

a Child, 53 

CHAPTER  VII. — Reasons  for  Training  a Child,  . 66 

CHAPTER  VIII. — Race  Considerations  Require 

such  Training, 71 

CHAPER  IX. — National  Considerations  Require 

such  Training, 81 

CHAPTER  X. — Ecclesiastical  Considerations  Re- 
quire such  Training, 90 


7 


8 


CONTENTS . 


PAGE. 


CHAPTER  XI. — The  Common-school  Considera- 
tion,   99 

CHAPTER  XII. — Relations  of  Domestic  Educa- 
tion to  the  Church,  the  State,  and  the  Com- 
mon-school, Including  Higher  Education  and 

the  Sunday-school, 105 

CHAPTER  XIII. — The  Nature  and  Scope  of  the 
Divine  Command,  “ Train  up  a Child  in  the 

Way  He  should  Go,” 109 

CHAPTER  XIV. — The  Divine  Promise, 113 

CHAPTER  XV. — Domestic  Education  under  Chris- 
tian Influences  the  Highest  Duty  of  the  Par- 
ent and  the  Citizen, 126 

CHAPTER  XYI. — Domestic  Unity — The  Mother 

and  Father  Co-laborers, 135 

CHAPTER  XVII.  The  Father’s  Work  and  In- 
fluence,   • * 145 

CHAPTER  XVIII. — Special  Training  of  Girls,  . . 153 
CHAPTER  XIX. — The  Christian  Graces,  ....  168 
CHAPTER  XX. — Sacred  Songs, 177 


INTRODUCTION. 


N invitation  of  my  esteemed  friend  and  brother, 


the  Rev.  D.  A.  Payne,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  the 
venerable  senior  bishop  of  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  I submit  a few  considerations  as 
an  introduction  to  his  interesting  and  able  discussion 
on  Domestic  Education. 

This  service  becomes  a pleasant  one  in  view  of 
our  long  and  intimate  friendship,  which  commenced 
in  1858,  when  I entered  upon  my  duties  as  president 
of  the  Wilberforce  University,  and  which  has  con- 
tinued without  the  slightest  interruption  until  the 
present  hour. 

Bishop  Payne  took  an  active  part  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  university,  aided  it  by  pen,  purse,  and 
speech ; was  its  true  and  steadfast  friend  in  the  most 
trying  period  of  its  history,  and  when  the  institution 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  African  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  he  became  its  honored  president.  His 
advice  and  counsel  were  of  great  value  to  me  in  the 
discharge  of  the  critical  duties  connected  with  my 
office.  Conscientious  and  upright  in  all  the  relations 
of  life,  refined  and  cultivated  by  study  and  travel, 
intensely  interested  in  securiug  educational  advanta- 
ges for  the  preparation  of  young  men  for  the  Chris- 


9 


10 


INTRODUCTION. 


tian  ministry,  self-sacrificing  and  enthusiastic  in  efforts 
for  the  salvation  of  the  world,  the  author’s  character 
is  worthy  of  imitation,  and  his  book  merits  careful 
study.  The  subject  discussed  is  one  of  transcendent 
importance,  and  the  ability  and  thoroughness  with 
"which  the  discussion  is  conducted  will  command  the 
respect  of  intelligent  people,  and  secure  the  happiest 
results.  It  will  shed  light  upon  all  questions  pertain- 
ing to  the  happiness  of  home,  the  efficiency  of  the 
school,  and  the  permanence  of  the  republic. 

The  most  valuable  instrumentality  in  the  education 
of  our  children  is  their  early  training  at  home  by 
their  parents,  and  this  must  be  commenced  as  soon 
as  they  enter  this  world,  and  continued  until  child- 
hood is  merged  in  manhood.  We  must  act  upon  the 
great  truth  which  led  one  of  the  master  painters  of 
Italy  to  begin  in  his  art  back  at  the  grinding  and  mix- 
ing of  his  paints,  that  no  unskillfulness  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  colors  should  be  found  on  completion 
to  have  marred  the  beauty,  or  dimmed  the  clearness 
of  works  which  were  to  challenge  the  admiration  of 
posterity. 

God  has  consecrated  the  early  period  of  life  to  the 
religious  training  of  the  child  by  the  parent,  so  that 
in  all  time  to  come  holy  influence  may  linger  in  the 
mind  and  restrain  its  possessor  from  folly  and  crime. 
God  in  wisdom  holds  back  the  development  of  the 
passions  in  childhood,  and  thus  gives  the  parent  a 
chance  to  pre-empt  the  child  for  Christ  before  the 
Devil  can  place  a mortgage  on  it. 


INTRODUCTION . 


11 


The  most  important  part  of  life  is  childhood,  and 
during  this  period,  impressions  may  most  easily  be 
made,  and  with  the  greatest  difficulty  effaced.  We 
may  carelessly  sketch  characters  upon  the  sand  of  the 
sea-shore,  and  the  next  dash  of  the  returning  surge 
may  obliterate  them.  But  impressions  made  by  the 
mother  on  the  tender  mind  of  the  child  shall  never 
be  effaced.  It  may  appear  paradoxical,  but  I venture 
the  remark  that  more  of  the  human  family  are  ruined 
in  the  nursery  than  in  subsequent  life,  and  the  senti- 
ment is  in  harmony  with  revelation,  which  offers  a 
happy  and  useful  life  as  the  reward  of  early  training. 
The  child’s  mind  is  receptive,  and  the  wrong  feelings 
of  the  parent  are  reproduced  in  the  child  and  become 
a part  of  its  being.  There  is  not  a cloud  of  anger 
that  flits  over  the  countenance  of  the  parent  that 
does  not  disturb  the  gentle  spirit  of  the  watchful 
child. 

The  power  of  early  training  is  recognized  in  the 
bitter  condemnation  of  those  who  break  away  from 
its  restraints  and  become  vile,  and  in  the  praise 
awarded  to  those  who  in  spite  of  its  neglect  become 
good  and  useful  citizens. 

It  is  axiomatic  in  education  that  what  is  first  in 
point  of  time  is  first  in  importance,  and  the  interest 
that  gathers  around  the  subject  of  early  training  should 
exceed  that  of  any  subsequent  period  of  life.  Early 
culture  should  not  be  intrusted  to  inexperienced 
strangers ; the  love  and  solicitude  of  the  parents  are 
demanded.  Of  all  the  eloquence  of  earth  there  is 


12 


INTRODUCTION. 


none  that  moves  the  soul  like  the  melting  strains  of 
maternal  love.  Says  a beautiful  writer:  “The  smile 
of  the  mother  which  is  reproduced  upon  the  face  of 
the  infant  upon  her  bosom,  is  only  an  emblem  of  that 
likeness  of  her  heart  in  which  his  heart  is  formed. 
Every  one  carries  to  his  grave  certain  elements  of 
character,  breathed  into  his  soul  by  his  mother  while 
he  was  fondled  in  her  arms.”  Every  child  receives 
from  its  parents  impressions  and  peculiarities  of 
thought  and  life  which  no  subsequent  effort  can  en- 
tirely overcome.  Every  look  and  word  and  act  tells 
upon  the  little  ones  at  home.  There  is  a kind  of  ink 
which,  when  first  used,  is  scarcely  perceptible,  but  it 
becomes  blacker  as  it  dries,  till  at  length  it  becomes 
so  black  that  you  may  burn  the  substance  on  which 
it  is  written  and  the  letters  will  still  be  legible  in  the 
very  ashes.  Faint  emblem  of  the  mother’s  influence! 
Napoleon  once  said  to  Madame  Campan,  The  old  sys- 
tems of  education  are  good  for  nothing;  what  is 
wanted  for  the  proper  training  of  young  persons  in 
France?  With  keen  discernment  and  great  truth  that 
intelligent  and  accomplished  lady  replied  in  one  word, 
Mothers.  The  word  struck  the  emperor,  and  he  ex- 
claimed: “Behold  an  entire  system  of  education. 
You  must  have  mothers  that  know  how  to  train  their 
children.” 

One  reason  why  our  schools  accomplish  so  little 
may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  it  requires  so  much 
time  and  labor  to  break  up  bad  habits  contracted  in 
early  life  at  home.  When  parents  who  commence 


INTRODUCTION . 


13 


the  education  of  their  children  shall  do  it.  as  wisely 
as  the  fondest  affection  and  the  maturest  judgment 
can  dictate,  and  then  place  them  under  the  care  of 
the  public  teacher,  who  is  properly  fitted  for,  and 
alive  to  the  great  responsibilities  of,  his  work,  then  a 
brighter  era  will  dawn  upon  our  educational  interests, 
and  a nobler  race  of  men  and  women  will  bless  the 
wrorld.  It  is  wrong  to  reproach  the  teacher  for  not 
completing  with  becoming  beauty  and  symmetry  a 
work  characterized  in  its  early  stages  by  so  many  de- 
fects. 

It  is  a crime  for  parents  to  allow  their  children  to 
go  from  the  fireside  to  the  cold  world  with  bad  habits 
and  wicked  propensities.  With  the  best  preparation 
possible,  life  is  a bitter  struggle  against  temptation 
and  vice,  and  early  religious  training  and  Christian 
character  furnish  the  only  safeguards  against  the  per- 
ils to  which  the  young  are  exposed. 

R.  S.  RUST, 

Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church . 

Cincinnati,  Ohio,  March,  1885. 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


d^hptef  I. 

THE  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN. 

11  Train  up  a child  in  the  way  he  should  go , and  when  he  is  old 
he  will  not  depart  from  it .” — Proverbs  xxii,  6. 

GOD  is  the  Creator  of  the  Universe.  As  such 
he  has  original  and  divine  right  to  make 
laws  for  the  government  of  its  different  depart- 
ments, physical  and  mental.1  But,  in  the  exercise 
of  this  divine  right  he  does  not  act  like  a des-" 
potic  monarch,  whose  absolute  will  is  law  for  all 
his  subjects;  whose  animus  is  supreme  selfishness 

1 1 employ  the  term  mental  in  preference  to  the  word 
intellectual,  because  it  is  of  wider  comprehension.  The 
intellectual  embraces  those  operations  of  mind  “ by 
which  we  perceive  objects  and  conceive  of  them ; and  re- 
member, analyze,  or  combine  them,  and  judge,  or  reason 
concerning  them.,,  See  Dr.  S.  S.  Schmucker’s  “ Mental 
Philosophy,”  page  25.  So,  also,  President  James  H.  Fair- 
child,  on  page  14,  of  his  “Moral  Philosophy :”  “The intel- 
lect is  the  general  faculty  of  perceiving  and  knowing,  and 
comprehends  the  faculties  of  sense,  memory,  imagination, 
judgment,  and  reason.”  So,  also,  Crahb  says:  “There  is 
the  same  difference  between  mental  and  intellectual,  as 
between  mind  and  intellect ; the  mind  comprehends  the 

15 


16 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA TION. 


manifesting  itself  by  brute  force,  violence,  rob- 
bery, war,  and  murder.  No!  The  animus  of 
God’s  right  is  infinite  love,  directed  by  unerring 
wisdom  and  unutterable  goodness.  Hence,  his 
physical  and  mental  laws  were  never  an  outburst 
of  blind  passion,  nor  supreme  selfishness. 

In  the  material  and  immaterial  world  every 
one  of  his  laws  is  designed  to  produce  well- 
being to  the  sentient  subjects  of  his  government, 
small  and  great,  weak  and  strong.  Hence  it  is 
as  absurd  for  erring  man  to  question  the  fitness 
and  goodness  of  his  moral  laws  as  it  is  to  dispute 
the  practicability,  wisdom,  and  efficiency  of  the 
physical. 

Among  the  principles,  laws  and  statutes  which 
he  has  given  to  govern  the  region  of  mind,  he 
has  given  to  society  the  mandate  of  the  beautiful 

thinking  faculty  in  general, with  all  its  operations ; the  in- 
tellect includes  only  that  part  of  it  which  consists  in 
understanding  and  judgment.  In  a word,  the  mental 
includes  all  the  powers  and  operations  of  the  spirit, 
whether  they  be  cognitive,  sentient,  moral,  or  spiritual- 
all  its  active  operations  and  its  passive  conditions.  And 
moreover,  by  the  word  mental  I include  not  only  the  hu- 
man, but  also  the  superhuman— all  beings  responsible  for 
their  conduct ; for  their  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds  in  the 
visible  and  invisible  universe.  For  every  thing  and  for 
all  things  God  has  ordained  laws,  governs  by  laws,  and 
judges  by  laws.  And  let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  the 
laws  by  which  he  governs  the  family  circle,  and  those  by 
whicli  he  controls  the  solar  system,  are  alike  immutable . 


THE  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN. 


17 


passage  of  Holy  Scriptures  which  is  taken  from 
the  inspired  pen  of  the  wisest  of  men.  “ Train 
up  a child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when 
he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it.”  (Prov. 
xxii,  6.) 

The  doctrine  taught  in  this  divine  statement 
is  disputed  on  the  ground  of  its  supposed  imprac- 
ticability. The  objections  may  be  reduced  to  the 
following  propositions : 

а.  A child,  that  is,  every  child,  is  born  in  a 
polluted  atmosphere  in  which  he  must  always  live; 
breathing  an  immoral  air,  he  is  necessarily  pol- 
luted by  it. 

б.  All  his  associates  at  home  are  corrupted  by 
sin,  therefore,  he  must  be  as  bad  as  they,  because 
association  begets  assimilation. 

c.  The  boys  and  the  girls  with  whom  he  must 
play,  away  from  home,  whether  in  the  street  or 
in  the  campus,  or  by  whom  he  sits  in  the  school- 
room, are  wicked,  and,  therefore,  he  can  not  be 
better  than  they. 

d.  Therefore,  they  say,  “the  doctrine  of  the 
text  can  not  be  realized  till  the  millennium  shall 
burst  upon  the  world,  and  every  body  shall*  be- 
come good.”  These  four  objections  come  from 
two  classes  of  people  : First,  from  members  of 
the  Christian  Church,  who  profess  to  believe  in 

the  Bible,  and,  second,  from  persons  outside  of 
2 


18 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


that  Church  who  have  no  faith  in  it,  and  who 
live  in  open  violation  of  its  just  and  holy  re- 
quirements. We  now  give  our  reply  to  these 
objections  by  saying : 

1st.  The  Creator  who  has  given  this  command 
is  the  Omniscient  Maker  of  every  child;  conse- 
quently he  knows  all  its  capabilities,  probabili- 
ties, and  possibilities. 

2d.  He  knows  every  temptation  to  which  a 
child  can  be  exposed  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 
He  knows  the  strength  of  every  temptation,  and 
the  conditions  under  which  every  one  can  appear. 
He  also  knows  the  capacity  of  every  child  to 
take  in  evil,  and  the  ability  to  repel  it. 

3d.  He  knows  every  bad  boy  or  girl  who  may 
endeavor  to  influence  a child  in  a wrong  direc- 
tion; also,  every  bad  man  and  woman  who  can 
and  will  offer  inducements  to  a child  to  do  evil. 
And  yet,  this  very  Omniscient  Creator  commands  us 
to  “ Train  up  a child  in  the  way  he  should  go.” 
Now,  inasmuch  as  he  never  commands  any  one 
to  perform  an  impossible  thing,  we  fully  believe 
that  a child  can  be  trained  in  the  way  he  should 
go.  Will  any  sane  father  command  his  child  to 
carry  a weight  which  he  knows  the  boy  can  not 
lift  from  the  ground ? Is  God  less  reasonable 
than  a man?  Whenever  he  commands  a duty  to 
be  performed,  he  also  imparts  the  strength  and 


THE  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN. 


19 


the  power  for  its  accomplishment.  Man  may  re- 
quire, and  often  does  demand,  that  which  is  both 
unreasonable  and  impossible.  But  God  never  did 
and  never  can  do  this.  Therefore,  we  once  more 
affirm,  a child  can  be  trained  in  the  way  he 
should  go. 

Moreover,  if  we  consider  the  latter  part  of 
this  divine  statement  as  a promise,  then  we  say 
that  God  will  make  it  good. 

“Lift  up  thy  rod,  and  stretch  out  thy  hand 
over  the  sea  and  divide  it;  and  the  children  of 
Israel  shall  go  on  dry  ground  through  the  midst 
of  the  sea.”  Such  was  God’s  command  to  Moses. 
The  unbeliever  standing  by,  and  hearing  this  di- 
vine mandate  would  have  cried  out  impossible. 
Who  can  divide  that  sea  and  lead  these  millions 
through  on  dry  ground?  But  Moses  stretched 
out  his  hand  over  the  sea ; and  the  Lord  caused 
the  sea  to  go  back  by  a strong  east  wind  all  that 
night,  and  made  the  sea  dry  land,  and  the  waters 
were  divided,  and  the  children  of  Israel  went 
into  the  midst  of  the  sea  upon  the  dry  ground, 
and  the  waters  were  a wall  unto  them  on  their 
right  hand  and  on  their  left.”  (Exodus  xiv,  16, 
21,  22.)  When  God  commands  let  man  obey. 
Then  if  the  difficulties  in  the  way  be  human,  he 
shall  have  power  to  overcome  them ; but  if  they 
be  superhuman,  the  Omnipotent  God,  who  gave  . 


20 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


the  command,  will  remove  every  obstruction  out 
of  his  path,  and  the  thing  to  be  done  shall  be 
accomplished.  (Exodus  xiv,  23-31.)  Why?  Be- 
cause he  never  breaks  a promise.  No  ! never  ! 

But,  if  we  consider  this  latter  statement  as  a 
prediction,  then  God  will  certainly  fulfill  his  own 
prophecy.  With  him  the  present,  the  past,  and 
the  future  are  alike.  Therefore,  he  knows  what 
can  be,  what  may  be,  what  will  be,  and  what 
must  be  as  certainly  as  he  knows  what  has  been, 
and  what  is  now.  A man  may  guess,  but  God 
never  does.  The  best  man  may  lie,  but  God  can 
not.  With  the  command  he  gives  the  power  to 
obey  and  to  execute.  With  the  promise  or  the 
prediction  goes  the  omnipotence  to  fulfill.  We 
are  now  prepared  to  consider  the  meaning  and 
the  compass  of  this  divine"  statement.  And  when 
we  remember  that  a child  by  direct  or  indirect 
training  may  become  “ a fool,  a devil,  or  an  angel,” 
the  meaning  and  the  compass  of  the  divine  com- 
mand can  not  be  too  carefully  considered,  and 
too  minutely  analyzed. 

What  is  its  significance?  It  means  that  we 
should  teach  a child  how  to  feel,  that  he  may  al- 
ways feel  aright;  how  to  think,  that  he  may 
always  think  aright;  that  we  should  teach  him 
how  to  act,  in  order  that  he  may  always  act  in 
the  right  direction ; that  we  should  teach  him 


THE  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN 


21 


how  to  live,  in  order  that  his  life  may  be  a solid 
contribution  of  good  to  the  well-being  of  human- 
ity ; that  we  should  teach  him  how  to  die  in 
order  that  his  death  may  be  the  beginning  of  an 
endless  life,  crowned  with  glory  everlasting,  and 
ever  increasing  in  its  effulgence.  Acording  to 
my  humble  conceptions,  such  is  the  signifi- 
cance and  such  the  only  import  of  the  divine 
command,  “ Train  up  a child  in  the  way  he 
should  go.”1 

6.  As  to  the  “ compass  ” 2 of  the  divine  mandate 
and  the  divine  promise  inseparable  from  it,  we 
say  in  one  general  statement  that  it  embraces  the 
entire  period  of  human  life.  It  takes  in  not  only 
the  daily  instructions  and  examples  of  the  par- 


1 The  word  way , in  the  divine  command,  has  no  allu- 
lusion,  I think,  to  what  may  be  the  employment  of  the 
child  well  trained ; whether  he  will  be  a farmer,  or  a me- 
chanic, or  an  artist,  or  an  artisan,  a lawyer,  or  a doctor,  a 
merchant  or  a sailor,  a clergyman  or  a school-master,  a 
scientist  or  a philosopher— but  that  the  word  “ way  ” 
throughout  the  sacred  writings  almost  always  relates  to 
moral  conduct,  to  the  character  of  the  individual  addressed 
or  about  whom  it  is  spoken.  Form  his  character  while  he 
is  yet  a child  ; that  is,  begin  the  work  of  formation ; con- 
tinue this  work  through  childhood  and  youth.  Make  it 
pure ; make  it  upright.  Make  it  strong  as  far  as  human 
agency  can  make  it  under  divine  instruction  by  the  Word 
of  God,  and  the  creative  Spirit  of  God.  Then,  whatever 
may  be  his  vocation  in  life,  he  will  maintain  that  character. 

2 This  compass  will  be  dwelt  on  at  length  further  on. 


22 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


ents,  but,  also,  all  the  outside  influences  which 
the  parents  or  guardians  may  bring  to  bear  upon 
the  character  of  the  child  so  as  to  develop  such 
character  as  the  Creator  himself  knows  to  be  pos- 
sible for  the  human  being  to  attain. 


FIRST  CONDITION, 


23 


Ct|kptef  II. 

FIRST  CONDITION  OF  SUCCESSFUL  CHILD- 
TRAINING. 


HILDREN  spend  their  infancy  under  very 


different  circumstances.  Some  have  their 
mothers  snatched  away  from  them  by  the  hand  of 
death  a few  hours  after  their  birth;  others  are  made 
fatherless  within  one  or  two  years  after;  in  some 
cases,  others  are  deprived  of  both  parents  while 
they  are  yet  unable  to  wash  their  faces,  comb 
their  hair,  or  dress  themselves — and  thus  are 
made  orphans  in  early  life.  Some  are  born  of 
rich  parents,  and,  therefore,  are  surrounded  by 
every  thing  that  can  minister  to  their  comfort ; 
others  enter  this  world  in  the  abodes  of  squalid 
poverty.  Some  become  orphans  as  soon  as  they 
have  reached  childhood;  while  others  are  made 
so  amid  the  waywardness  of  reckless  youth. 

But,  in  every  instance,  God  provides  for  their 
training.  Sometimes  an  aunt,  a grand-aunt,  or 
an  uncle,  or  a grand-uncle,  or  a grandmother  or 
grandfather,  takes  the  place  of  their  parents ; 
sometimes  a friendly  neighbor,  or  an  absolute 


24 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


stranger  is  moved  to  become  foster-mother  or 
foster-father.  Such  persons  are  guardians,  but 
they  are  held  to  the  responsibilities  of  parents  by 
that  God  who  has  promised  to  be  a father  to  the 
fatherless  and  the  orphan  children. 

Whether  they  be  parents  or  guardians,  the 
first  condition  of  successful  training  is  unity  in 
respect  to  the  order,  law,  and  government  of  the 
household.  There  must  be  unity  on  the  part  of 
the  parents  or  guardians  of  a child.  There  must 
be  no  dissension,  no  antagonism  between  them ; 
for  if  such  a thing  as  disagreement  or  antagonism 
exists  in  the  family,  no  child  can  be  trained  under 
the  ideas,  principles,  and  sentiments  involved  in 
the  divine  command.  That  command  is  not  su- 
perficial, but  is  as  deep  as  the  very  essence  of 
the  complex  and  immortal  nature  of  a child. 
His  body,  his  soul,  and  his  spirit  are  all  compre- 
hended in  it.  It  holds  within  its  grasp  all  of  the 
present  and  all  of  the  future  in  the  character  and 
history  of  the  young  heir  of  the  crown  of  life. 
Therefore,  there  must  be  an  unbroken  oneness  in 
its  training. 

Here,  in  this  thing,  no  mother  nor  father, 
no  grandmother  nor  grandfather,  nor  aunt,  nor 
uncle  can  be  allowed  to  intermeddle.  No  brother 
nor  sister  can  be  suffered  to  interfere.  No ! not 
for  a moment ! I am  in  earnest ; I plead  for  the 


FIRST  CONDITION . 


25 


children  as  one  pleadeth  for  his  first-born,  or  as 
one  pleadeth  for  his  own  life,  or  as  one  pleadeth 
for  his  only  child. 

The  family  is  a miniature  Church,  with  its 
priest  and  its  priestess  to  train  it  for  the  work  of 
Christian  life,  for  its  conflicts,  and  its  victories. 
It  is  also  a miniature  state,  with  its  laws,  order, 
and  government.  It  has  its  head  and  his  assist- 
ant, between  whom  there  must  be  no  conflict. 
They  must  be  one  in  all  opinions,  principles,  and 
sentiments,  which  do,  or  may,  affect  the  family 
government. 

We  say  it  once  more,  and  say  it  with  all  the 
emphasis  that  time  and  eternity  can  give : In  the 
family  government,  no  difference  of  opinion  should 
exist,  no  antagonism  be  allowed.  One  spirit  ought 
to  animate  the  parents  or  guardians ; one  law 
govern  them,  and  bind  them  into  one  as  with 
fetters  of  steel  that  can  never  be  broken.  Be- 
cause, if  the  wife  antagonize  the  husband  in  the 
government  of  the  family,  defeat  is  as  certain  as 
death  itself. 

Were  it  possible  for  all  the  archangels  to  come 
from  heaven  and  legislate  for  the  family  or  the 
household,  should  the  mother  antagonize  the 
father,  no  great  woman  nor  great  man  could  issue 
from  it.  Of  course,  I use  the  word  great  in  its 
highest  sense;  not  the  physical,  nor  the  intellect- 


26 


D OMES  TIC  ED  TJCA  TION. 


ual,  nor  the  artistic,  nor  the  military,  nor  the 
financial,  nor  the  political ; but  the  moral  and  the 
spiritual , which  is  the  highest  because  it  is  the 
essential,  and  the  immortal,  the  only  form  of 
greatness  which  makes  us  acceptable  to  him  who 
is  the  Lord  of  lords,  and  the  King  of  kings;  it 
is,  therefore,  the  only  greatness  that  exalts  an  in- 
dividual to  the  society  of  heaven,  and  crowns 
him  with  eternal  life. 

But  a greater  than  the  archangels  has  legis- 
lated for  the  family  and  the  household — it  is  the 
Infinite  Legislator — that  legislation  is  expressed 
in  the  text  which  we  are  unfolding,  and  which  is 
illustrated  and  confirmed  by  many  a parallel  state- 
ment of  the  inspired  Scriptures,  and  by  the  indis- 
putable biography  of  great  men. 

And  yet  the  overwhelming  majority  of  fami- 
lies will  not  heed  it;  therefore,  the  overwhelming 
majority  of  children  have  never  been  trained  in 
the  way  they  should  go ; and,  therefore,  even 
where  many  have  succeeded  as  politicians,  finan- 
ciers, professional  or  other  business  men,  their 
lives  have  been  moral  failures;  because,  if  the 
mother  think  the  government  of  the  father  is  too 
rigid,  in  his  absence — when  he  is  busied  making 
bread  and  butter  for  his  family — she  will  loosen 
the  reins,  and  let  the  boy  or  the  girl  trample  law, 
order,  and  government  under  the  feet.  This  is 


FIRST  CONDITION. 


27 


not  the  only  evil.  What  is  worse,  the  spoiled 
child,  seeing  the  mother  opposed  to  her  husband, 
takes  sides  with  her  and  regards  the  father  as  an 
enemy. 

Unity , therefore,  unbroken,  uniform;  perpetual 
unity  of  *the  father  and  the  mother,  of  the  wife 
and  the  husband,  is  an  essential  condition  of 
successful  child-training. 


28 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


dl]hptef  ITT. 

SECOND  CONDITION  OF  SUCCESSFUL  CHILD- 
TRAINING. 

JUST  as  the  family  is  the  original  fountain  of 
the  state,  and,  also,  its  original  nursery,  so, 
also,  is  it  the  original  fountain  and  nursery  of 
the  Church  of  the  living  God.  Herein  the  child 
must  be  trained  for  usefulness , both  in  the  Church 
and  the  state.  Hence  there  must  be  a Church 
within  the  family,  and  an  altar  at  its  fireside. 
This  family  Church  must  have  its  laws,  its  order, 
and  its  government,  which  must  be  well  con- 
sidered before  they  be  adopted ; but  when  once 
adopted,  they  ought  to  be  enforced,  conscien- 
tiously and  daily. 

There  are  those  who  attend  the  public  sanctu- 
ary of  the  Lord  as  regularly  as  the  earth  re- 
volves around  its  axis;  they  join  the  congrega- 
tion of  the  saints  to  sing  “ psalms,  hymns,  and 
spiritual  songs,”  to  make  prayers  and  supplica- 
tions, to  hear  the  Gospel  of  salvation  preached, 
so  as  to  develop  their  intellectual,  moral,  and 


SECOND  CONDITION 


29 


spiritual  nature:  and,  by  so  doing,  worship  “The 
Unknown  God.”1 

But  when  they  leave  the  house  of  worship, 
they  leave  their  God  behind  them;  and  when 
they  arrive  at  home,  they  have  no  Church  there, 
no  altar  there,  no  God  there. 

In  such  families  no  child  can  be  trained  as 
God  would  have  him  trained.  Indeed,  the  ma- 
jority of  parents  think  not  of  the  will  of  the 
Almighty  Father  in  the  training  of  a child. 

1l  say  “The  Unknown  God,”  because,  practically,  the 
greater  number  of  professing  Christians  seem  not  to  know 
the  God  whom  they  profess  to  love  and  to  serve.  They 
seem  not  to  know  that  God  requires  every  Christian  fam- 
ily to  do  what  he  commanded  every  Jewish  family  to 
perform,  which  was  “ to  have  a consecrated  home.”  Con- 
secrated to  his  worship  morning  and  evening;  consecrated 
to  the  domestic  training  of  children  in  the  love  of  God, 
and  in  the  fear  of  God ; consecrated  to  education  as  well 
as  to  worship ; so  consecrated  that  the  home  shall  be  both 
a Church  and  a school  (house) ; so  consecrated,  that  the 
father  and  the  mother  shall  be  ministering  priests  at  the 
family  altar,  and  competent  teachers  in  the  family  school 
(house) ; the  first  priests  to  lead  their  offspring  up  to  God’s 
altar ; the  first  teachers  to  develop  the  intellect,  the  heart, 
and  the  will  of  their  children  in  the  fear  of  God , and  in  the 
love  of  God , for  the  well-being — not  of  one  favored  race  to 
the  exclusion,  damage,  and  oppression  of  every  other 
race — but  for  the  well-being  of  our  common  humanity. 
Such  is  the  God,  and  such  the  will  of  the  God,  whom  the 
Bible  reveals  to  all  sincere  and  earnest  persons  who  seek 
to  know  him.  (See  Deut.  vi,  1-9,  and  \\  29;  Eph.  vi, 
1-4.)  In  a word,  to  a majority  of  the  so-called  Christians 
the  God  of  the  home  is  “ The  Unknown  God.” 


30 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


Their  minds  seem  to  be  filled  with  every  other 
thought  but  that.  Hence,  in  the  training  of 
children,  the  greatest  number  of  parents  and 
guardians  conform  entirely  to  the  sentiments  and 
customs  of  the  world.  What  the  world  thinks 
about  a child — what  amount  of  freedom  a child 
shall  have,  what  amount  of  indulgence;  how  much 
it  shall  eat,  when  it  shall  eat,  what  it  shall  eat; 
where  it  shall  go,  when  it  shall  go,  and  with 
whom;  when  it  shall  play,  where  it  shall  play, 
and  with  whom ; how  it  shall  be  dressed,  what 
it  shall  wear,  and  how  appear,  are  the  only  ques- 
tions which  interest  them,  and  which  they  are 
ready  to  answer.  Now,  therefore,  because  the 
Church  is  excluded  from  the  household,  the  God 
and  head  of  it  is  also  excluded.  Only  admit  the 
Church,  and  God  will  so  impress  his  thoughts 
and  his  will  upon  the  mind  of  parents  and  guard- 
ians as  to  make  them  antagonize  the  world  in  the 
management  of  their  own  children,  physically, 
intellectually,  and  morally,  as  to  induce  them  to 
make  earnest  inquiries  of  himself  concerning  the 
end  for  which  a child  is  sent  into  this  world,  and 
the  best  means  for  attaining  that  end.  And 
when  there  is  an  acknowledged  Church  within 
the  family,  if  it  be  asked  how  shall  the  daily 
worship  be  conducted,  I make  the  following  sug- 
gestions : 


SECOND  CONDITION. 


31 


1st.  Let  every  child,  servant,  and  sojourner 
within  the  homestead  be  assembled  early  in  the 
morning  and  early  in  the  evening  around  the 
domestic  altar,  there  to  listen  to  the  Word  of 
God — which  ought  to  be  read  alternately  by  the 
father  and  the  mother,  the  other  members  of  the 
household  reading  responsively  with  the  one  who 
leads  the  service.  Thus,  every  member  of  the 
family  would  actively  participate  in  the  worship. 

Permit  me  now  to  give  some  reasons  why  this 
reading  of  God’s  Word  should  form  part  of  the 
daily  worship. 

a.  Because  these  Holy  Scriptures  are  God’s 
own  voice,  teaching  us  what  we  ought  to  know, 
to  do,  and  to  suffer  for  his  sake,  in  order  that 
we  might  be  intelligent  in  the  highest  sense,  pure 
in  a moral  sense,  and  really  Christian  in  a spirit- 
ual sense.  And  by  this  means  we  become  wise, 
blessed,  and  useful  in  our  day  and  generation. 

b.  Because  there  is  no  condition,  position,  or 
office  common  to  civilized  man  but  what  these 
Scriptures  can  enlighten  and  sanctify. 

c.  Because  there  is  no  moral  nor  religious 
doubt  in  our  minds  but  what  these  Scriptures 
can  remove  if  we  will  but  listen  to  their  voice 
and  heed  their  teachings. 

d.  Because,  when  their  teachings  are  under- 
stood and  heeded  daily,  uniformly,  perpetually 


32 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


regarded  and  obeyed,  they  impart  to  the  soul  a 
moral  and  spiritual  strength  and  power  which 
give  us  victory  over  ourselves,  and  consequently 
victory  over  the  world. 

e.  These  Scriptures  are  as  though  God  him- 
self, descending  to  earth  and  gathering  humanity 
around  his  throne,  should  teach  every  individual 
every  family,  every  race,  every  nation,  every 
kingdom,  every  government  how  to  live  as  moral 
and  responsible  agents  ought  to  live. 

/.  These  Holy  Scriptures  are  the  bread  of 
eternal  life,  the  living  and  life-giving  food  of  the 
spirit  and  the  soul,  made  and  given  to  enlighten 
and  to  sanctify  as  our  daily  food  is  made  and 
given  to  satiate  the  hunger  and  thirst  of  the 
body.  “ I will  never  forget  thy  precepts,  for 
with  them  thou  hast  quickened  me.”  (Psalm 
cxix,  93.)  So  said  a mighty  warrior,  king,  and 
statesman.  “Man  doth  not  live  by  bread  only, 
but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  doth  man  live.”  (Deut.  viii, 
3;  John  vi,  48-51,  see  also  verse  63.) 

2d.  Let  every  father  and  mother,  every  child, 
every  servant  or  helper,  and  every  sojourner 
within  the  homestead  have  a hymn  or  song-book 
to  join  in  singing  the  songs  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving, of  gratitude  and  love,  of  penitence  and 
faith,  of  obedience  and  adoration. 


SECOND  CONDI  TION. 


33 


a . Because  this  form  of  worship  is  pleasing  to 
God,  and  is,  therefore,  elevating  and  inspiring. 

b.  Because  it  lifts  the  soul  of  the  believer 
heavenward  by  hallowing  the  affections  and  sub- 
jugating the  will. 

c.  Because  these  divine  hymns  and  songs  often 
make  us,  for  the  time  being,  forgetful  of  all  earthly 
cares,  sorrows,  and  fears,  by  strengthening  our  faith 
in  God,  and  filling  us  with  the  hope  of  blessed- 
ness in  this  world  and  that  which  is  to  come. 

d.  These  divine  songs  and  hymns  often  fill 
our  hearts  with  divine  love,  and  lift  our  souls  up 
to  the  very  bosom  of  Him  who  is  the  fountain 
of  love. 

The  great  king  of  Israel — that  warrior  who 
never  lost  a battle ; that  musical  king,  whose 
melodious  harp  and  voice  did  cast  out  evil  spirits ; 
that  poetical  king,  whose  songs,  and  hymns,  and 
odes  were  inspired  by  the  breath  of  heaven — 
experienced  the  truths  we  have  uttered  when  he 
said : 

“ Thou  shalt  increase  my  greatness, 

And  comfort  me  on  every  side. 

I also  will  praise  thee  with  the  psaltery,  even  thy  truth, 
O,  my  God! 

I will  praise  thee  with  the  harp,  O,  thou  holy  one  of 
Israel ! 

My  lips  shall  greatly  rejoice  when  I sing  unto  thee, 

And  my  soul,  which  thou  hast  redeemed.” 

— Psalm  lxxi,  21-23. 


3 


34 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


The  sacred  song,  chanted  in  the  bosom  of  the 
family  as  well  as  in  the  public  sanctuary,  is  pleas- 
ant to  the  ear  of  God,  that  Father  of  the  families 
of  the  earth ; therefore,  David  says : 

“Let  every  thing  that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord.” 

— Psalm  cl,  6. 

“ Kings  of  the  earth  and  all  people, 

Princes  and  all  the  judges  of  the  earth, 

Both  young  men  and  maidens, 

Old  men  and  children, 

Let  them  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord, 

For  his  name  alone  is  excellent; 

His  glory  is  above  the  earth  and  the  heavens.” 

— Psalm  cxlviii,  11-13. 

Thus  sang  the  most  gifted  monarch  that  ever 
sat  upon  a throne  or  ruled  a mighty  people. 
How  graceful  and  good  it  is  now,  when  count- 
less blessings — unknown  to  Jewish  families — are 
bestowed  upon  Christians,  to  hear  early  every 
morning  at  the  household  altar  such  a song  as 

“ Lord,  in  the  morning  thou  shalt  hear 
My  voice  ascending  high, 

To  thee  will  I direct  my  prayer, 

To  thee  lift  up  mine  eye — 

O,  may  thy  Spirit  guide  my  feet 
In  ways  of  righteousness ; 

Make  every  path  of  duty  straight, 

And  plain  before  my  face.” 

In  the  evening,  when  the  Deity  draws  the 
dark  curtains  of  night  over  the  face  of  nature 
and  around  the  homes  of  men — if  there  be  a 


SECOND  CONDITION 


35 


superstitious  dread  of  unseen  evil — it  is  comfort- 
ing to  sing  such  a song  as  flowed  from  the  pen 
and  the  lips  of  Wesley,  saying: 

“ All  praise  to  Him  who  dwells  in  bliss, 

Who  made  both  day  and  night; 

Whose  throne  is  darkness  in  the  abyss 
Of  uncreated  light. 

Each  thought  and  deed  his  piercing  eyes 
With  strictest  search  surveys ; 

The  deepest  shades  no  more  disguise 
Than  the  full  blaze  of  day. 

Whom  thou  dost  guard,  0,  King  of  kings, 

No  evil  shall  molest, 

Under  the  shadow  of  thy  wings 
Shall  they  securely  rest. 

Thy  angels  shall,  around  their  beds, 

Their  constant  stations  keep  ; 

Thy  faith  and  truth  shall  shield  their  heads, 

For  thou  dost  never  sleep. 

May  we  with  calm  and  sweet  repose, 

And  heavenly  thoughts  refreshed, 

Our  eyelids  with  the  morn  unclose, 

And  bless  thee,  ever  blessed.” 

To  awaken  in  the  bosom  of  a whole  family 
hungerings  and  thirstings  after  righteousness,  how 
well  adapted  is  one  such  song  as  this : 

“ O,  J esus,  I long  to  be  perfectly  whole  ; 

I want  thee  forever  to  live  in  my  soul ; 

Break  down  every  idol,  cast  out  every  foe ; 

Now  wash  me,  and  I shall  be  whiter  than  snow, 

Whiter  than  snow ; yes,  whiter  than  snow ; 

Now  wash  me,  and  I shall  be  whiter  than  snow.” 


36 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


And  to  stimulate  the  reading  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  how  well  adapted  is  the  hymn ; 

“ Father  of  Mercies,  in  thy  Word 
What  endless  glory  shines ! 

Forever  be  thy  name  adored 
For  these  celestial  lines. 

There  may  the  wretched  sons  of  want 
Exhaustless  riches  find, 

Riches  above  what  earth  can  grant, 

And  lasting  as  the  mind. 

There  the  fair  tree  of  knowledge  grows, 

And  yields  a free  repast ; 

Sublimer  sweets  than  nature  knows 
Invite  the  longing  taste. 

There  the  Redeemer’s  welcome  voice 
Spreads  heavenly  peace  around, 

And  life  and  everlasting  joys 
Attend  the  blissful  sound. 

O may  these  heavenly  pages  be 
My  ever  dear  delight ; 

And  still  new  beauties  may  I see 
And  still  increasing  light. 

Divine  Instructor,  gracious  Lord, 

Be  thou  forever  near ; 

Teach  me  to  love  thy  sacred  Word, 

And  view  my  Savior  there.” 

3.  After  singing  should  follow  the  fervent, 
effectual  prayer  of  the  righteous  at  the  family 
altar.  Prayer,  supplication,  and  intercession  are 
different  forms  of  the  same  thing,  produced  by 
different  and  changing  circumstances  of  the  fam- 
ily or  the  individual.  It  is  invocation  for  help 


SECOND  CONDITION. 


37 


divine  from  the  Almighty  Father,  God,  and 
King ; the  same  cry  of  the  soul  for  succor  in  the 
time  of  trouble  and  affliction,  or  the  deep  long- 
ings of  the  soul  for  moral  and  spiritual  purifica- 
tion from  the  guilt  of  sin;  it  is  a struggle  for 
deliverance  from  its  cruel  and  destructive  power ; 
it  is  the  high  aspiration  of  the  spirit  after  the 
holiness,  righteousness,  and  life  of  God. 

This  element  of  the  family  worship  is  com- 
manded. The  Son  of  God  has  said  : “Ask  and  it 
shall  be  given  you;  seek  and  ye  shall  find;  knock 
and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you.  For  every  one 
that  asketh,  receiveth ; and  he  that  seeketh,  find- 
eth;  and  to  him  that  knocketh,  it  shall  be  opened. 
Or  what  man  is  there  of  whom,  if  his  son  ask 
bread,  will  he  give  him  a stone?  Or,  if  he  ask  a 
fish,  will  he  give  him  a serpent?  If  ye  then, 
being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto 
your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your  Father, 
which  is  in  heaven,  give  good  things  to  them 
that  ask  him?” 

God  has  not  only  commanded  us  to  pray;  he 
has  also  given  us  the  form  of  prayer,  in  order 
that  we  may  always  pray  aright,  and  thus  secure 
for  ourselves  and  our  children  and  dependents 
the  “ good  things”  necessary  for  our  bodies,  souls, 
and  spirits. 

Bread  and  butter,  raiment  and  shelter,  intel- 


38 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


lect  and  heart,  will  and  power,  are  among  the 
good  things  which  every  family  need,  and  which 
God  is  ready,  able,  and  willing  to  bestow  upon 
every  family,  of  every  race  and  every  age,  who 
call  upon  him  in  sincerity  and  in  truth.  Every 
family,  and  every  individual  of  every  family, 
needs  every  one  of  these  good  things,  needs  them 
every  day,  and  some  of  them  every  hour  of 
every  day. 

Now,  who  can  supply  these  varied,  endless 
wants  but  “Our  Father  who  is  in  heaven?” 
He  is  the  inexhaustible  Fountain  of  all  “good 
things,”  and  of  all  blessings,  for  time  and  for 
eternity. 


THIRD  CONDITION. 


39 


C^kptef  IV. 


THIRD  CONDITION  OF  SUCCESSFUL  CHILD- 
TRAINING. 

HE  third  condition  of  the  successful  training 


X of  children  is  private  prayer.  Shut  up  in 
the  closet,  or  some  chosen,  secluded  spot,  where 
no  eye  can  see,  nor  ear  hear  us,  but  the  eyes  and 
ears  of  the  Omnipresent  God,  Creator,  and  Father 
of  humanity,  the  mother,  like  Hannah,  ought  to 
pray  for  her  child,  before  it  is  conceived,  or  born. 
The  father  should  do  likewise;  for  the  earnest, 
agonizing  prayer  of  the  faithful  can  never  fail. 
God  will  hear  such  a prayer  as  he  heard  Han- 
nah’s, and  will  answer  such  a prayer  as  he  an- 
swered Hannah’s.  As  the  faithful  Abraham  sup- 
plicated for  his  children  and  his  household,  as 
Job  did  continually  for  his  family,  so  also  must 
the  Christian  father  pray  for  the  child  and  the 
household  which  God  has  placed  under  his  care. 
Morning,  noon,  and  night  should  be  the  witnesses 
of  his  prayers,  supplications,  and  intercessions  for 
every  child  which  God  has  given  him.  And  if 
there  be  more  than  one  child  in  the  family,  or  in 


40 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION . 


the  household,  each  child  should  be  named  and 
prayed  for  separately,  according  to  the  distinctive 
manifest  tendency  and  disposition  of  each.  For 
the  disposition  of  children  varies  as  their  faces 
vary,  and  their  tendencies  differ  as  their  gait 
varies. 

Read  the  prophetic  blessings  of  Jacob,  as  given 
us  in  Genesis  xlix,  1-29,  and  you  will  see  that 
his  predictions  were  based  upon  their  well  known 
dispositions  and  tendencies.  When  we  also  re- 
member that  there  is  more  than  poetry  in  the 
line  of  Wordsworth, 

“ The  boy  is  father  of  the  man,” 
we  ought  to  suit  our  prayers  in  the  closet  to 
the  natural  disposition  and  tendencies  of  each 
child.  This  remark  leads  us  to  recognize  the 
truth,  that  while  the  closet  prayer  ought  to  be 
particular,  the  prayer  at  the  family  altar  must 
almost  always  assume  a general  form. 

Will  God  hear  these  closet  prayers?  Yes. 
Every  child  was  originally  made  in  the  image  of 
God  and  after  his  likeness;  which,  according  to 
the  teachings  of  St.  Paul,  consist  in  knowledge, 
righteousness,  and  true  holiness.  It  is  the  will 
of  God  that  every  child  shall  be  renewed  in  these 
divine  elements ; therefore,  to  pray  that  God, 
through  his  Word  and  his  Spirit,  should  renew 
our  children  in  his  image  and  after  his  likeness, 


THIRD  CONDITION. 


41 


while  they  are  yet  children,  is  to  pray  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  will  of  God.  That  we  should 
endeavor  to  make  our  children  good,  as  well  as 
intelligent,  and  intelligent  as  well  as  good  is  as 
manifestly  the  dictate  of  nature  as  it  is  of  rev- 
elation. That  this  is  a duty  taught  emphatically 
in  the  Old  Testament,  no  one  who  reads  it  will 
doubt;  that  it  is  clearly  and  repeatedly  inculcated 
in  the  New  is  equally  certain.  Therefore,  to 
pray  that  God  may  aid  us  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duty  commanded  is  one  of  the  best  means  of  se- 
curing that  aid. 

We  conclude,  therefore,  that  secret,  earnest, 
faithful  prayers  in  behalf  of  a child  is  a third 
condition  of  successful  child  training.  For  all 
our  girls  and  boys  our  earnest,  daily  prayer 
should  be, 

“ Green  as  the  firs  midst  ice  and  snow, 

Midst  Spring  and  Summer’s  blight, 

In  all  the  graces  let  them  grow, 

Symmetrical  and  bright.,, 

The  language  of  David’s  heart  for  Solomon 
was,  “ Give  unto  my  son  Solomon  a perfect  heart 
to  keep  thy  commandments,  thy  testimonies,  and 
thy  statutes.”  (1  Chronicles,  xxix,  19.)  Such  was 
his  prayer  for  his  son  in  the  presence  of  assem- 
bled Israel.  It  was  earnest,  and  it  was  answered. 
What  must  have  been  the  character  of  his  inter- 


42 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


cessions  for  Solomon  in  his  secret  closet!  The 
heart  utters  in  secret  what  it  suppresses  in  pub- 
lic. For  Solomon’s  success  as  the  king  of  Israel 
his  prayer  was  fully  answered.  For  none  wiser 
or  more  just  ever  sat  upon  a throne.  For  “ Sol- 
omon the  son  of  David  was  strengthened  in  his 
kingdom,  and  the  Lord  his  God  was  with  him 
and  magnified  him  exceedingly.”  So,  also,  the 
closet  prayer  of  Solomon  was  not  for  position, 
nor  honor,  nor  wealth,  nor  victory  over  his  ene- 
mies ; nor  for  long  life — but  it  was,  “ Give  me 
now  wisdom  and  knowledge  that  I may  go  out 
and  come  in  before  this  people ; for  who  can  judge 
this  thy  people  that  is  so  great.” 

Mark  the  unselfishness  and  end  of  David’s 
prayer  for  Solomon.  He  begged  not  for  position 
and  wealth  and  honor  and  power,  but  for  a perfect 
heart — obedient  to  God’s  commandments  and  tes- 
timonies and  statutes.  Mark,  also,  the  character- 
istics of  Solomon’s  petition.  It  was  not  for 
wealth,  nor  position,  nor  honor,  nor  power,  but 
for  knowledge  to  discriminate  between  things 
that  resemble  but  differ,  that  he  might  not  con- 
found them,  and  for  that  sublimest  of  all  earthly 
gifts,  that  grandest  and  most  efficient  of  all  men- 
tal endowments — wisdom — the  ability  to  make  a 
right,  just,  profitable  use  of  knowledge  and  learn- 
ing for  the  well-being  of  man  and  the  glory  of 


THIRD  CONDITION. 


43 


God.  Such  ought  to  be  the  character  and  the 
characteristics  of  every  sacred  ejaculation  or  closet 
prayer  that  a parent  makes  for  a child. 

Now  as  u iron  sharpeneth  iron,”  so  does  the  in- 
visible and  omnipotent  Spirit  of  God  quicken  the 
spirit  of  a child ; and  as  the  potter  molds  with 
his  plastic  hands  the  yielding  clay,  so  does  the 
Spirit  of  God  mold  into  forms  of  intellectual, 
moral,  and  spiritual  beauty,  every  child  fully 
consecrated  by  the  family  and  the  secret  prayers, 
when  these  prayers  are  followed  up  by  careful 
and  diligent  training  of  a child  in  the  way  he 
should  go. 


44 


DOMESTIC  ED  DC  A TION. 


C$t\kptef  V. 


FOURTH  CONDITION  OF  SUCCESSFUL  CHILD 
TRAINING. 

HE  fourth  condition  of  successful  child  train- 


X ing  is  the  self-culture  of  the  parents.  “ He  that 
walketh  with  wise  men  shall  be  wise.”  In  this 
divine  statement  we  have  given  unto  us  the  law 
of  association  and  assimilation.  In  common  par- 
lance we  say,  “like  begets  like.”  We  also  say, 
“ the  fruit  is  like  the  tree.”  “ The  flowing  stream 
is  like  the  fountain  in  color  and  in  taste.”  There- 
fore we  do  not  expect  the  children  to  rise  above 
the  grade  of  their  parentage.  But  we  can  make 
exceptions  to  this  rule  by  changing  the  circum- 
stances which  surround  them,  and  thus  change 
their  condition  and  elevate  them  above  their 
parentage. 

We  have  seen  such  changes  made  in  African 
boys,  at  Lincoln  University,  and  in  Indian  boys 
and  girls  at  Hampton,  Virginia.  I have  seen 
changes  in  the  outlines  of  their  heads,  in  the  con- 
tour of  their  faces,  in  the  expression  of  their 
eyes,  in  their  general  manners,  opinions,  senti- 


FOURTH  CONDITION. 


45 


merits,  and  pursuits.  All  these  changes  can  be 
effected  only  by  separation  from  their  parents  and 
their  heathen  and  barbarous  surroundings.  Such 
changes  can  be  effected  in  the  physical  and  men- 
tal condition  of  any  barbarous  family,  and  if  so, 
on  any  ignorant  and  rude  ones.  But,  the  separa- 
tion of  the  child  from  its  mother  in  order  that  it 
may  be  rightly  trained  seems  to  be  unnatural, 
and  children  from  their  parents  abnormal,  because 
the  demand  of  nature  is  that  the  parents  be  the 
first  educators  of  their  children — hence  the  wis- 
dom of  the  thought  of  Vinet,  the  “ Necessite  de 
V education  des  educateurs  ” — the  necessity  of  ed- 
ucating the  educators.1 

Now,  man  was  made  for  knowledge,  and,  there- 
fore, for  education.  He  was  made  to  know  one 
object  from  another  in  order  that  he  might  not 
confound  the  differences  and  distinctions  which 
separate  them,  nor  the  resemblances  which  classify 
them.  Thus  he  was  made  to  know  the  difference 
between  a cow  and  a buffalo ; between  a sheep  and 
a goat ; between  the  horse  and  the  mule.  So,  also, 
man  was  made  to  know  the  difference  between 
the  true  and  the  false,  the  fit  and  the  unfit,  the 
proper  and  the  improper,  the  right  and  the  wrong, 
the  good  and  the  evil,  even  when  there  is  the 


1 “ L’Education,  La  Famille,  et  La  Soci6t6,”  pp.  6-18. 


46 


D OMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


closest  resemblance  between  them.  Rising  still 
higher  in  the  region  of  mind,  man  was  made  to 
know  the  difference  between  religion  and  super- 
stition ; to  know  the  Christian  religion  from  the 
superstitions  which  resembles  it ; to  discern  the 
merely  human  from  the  divine  Spirit ; the  indif- 
ferent from  the  essential ; to  know  God  as  the 
cherubim  and  seraphim  know  him ; to  know  him 
as  angels  and  archangels  know  him,  in  order  that 
he  may  love  and  worship  as  these  heavenly  be- 
ings love  and  worship — in  sincerity,  in  spirit,  and 
in  truth;  the  only  worship  which  is  acceptable 
to  Him  who  sees  not  as  man  sees,  and  with  whom 
things  highly  esteemed  among  men  are  an  abom- 
ination in  his  sight.  The  where  and  the  when, 
the  what  and  the  how,  are  also  very  important  for 
man  to  know,  and  God  made  him  to  know  them. 

But  what  is  knowledge  without  divine  holiness 
and  divine  love ? Devils  are  intelligent,  they 
know  ten  thousand  things  of  which  man  is  igno- 
rant, and  may  remain  forever  ignorant ; but  they 
are  not  holy,  neither  can  they  love  as  God  loves, 
nor  hate  as  he  hates;  for  what  God  loves  they 
hate,  and  what  he  hates  they  love.  But  God 
made  man  to  love  as  well  as  to  know ; to  suffer 
as  well  as  to  do.  He  made  man  to  love  as 
he  loves ; only  the  pure,  the  true,  and  the  good. 
As  he  made  man  to  love  these,  so,  also,  he  made 


FOURTH  CONDITION . 


47 


man  to  hate  their  opposites.  Now  divine  love 
purifies  the  soul  because  it  is  the  opposite  of  that 
vile  thing  which  is  named  lust.  Love  repels  it 
and  casts  it  out  of  the  heart  if  it  steals  an  en- 
trance there  but  for  a moment.  Love  exalts  a 
man  into  the  favor  of  Him  who  is  the  fountain 
of  love  and  makes  him  god-like.  The  man  who 
loves  God  is  the  man  who  delights  greatly  in  his 
commandments,  and  by  this  very  delight  obeys 
all  the  commandments  always.  These  two  things , 
love  and  obedience , keep  the  individual  at  one  with 
Christ  and  with  God.  Now,  this  divine  union  also 
keeps  the  individual  under  the  vivifying  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  causes  him,  or  her,  to 
grow  daily  in  all  the  manly  virtues  and  in  all 
the  Christian  graces ; and  yet  that  this  growth  in 
moral  excellence  is  based  upon  knowledge,  is  clear 
and  manifest,  according  to  the  prayer  of  the 
Apostle  for  the  Church  at  Philippi,  saying,  “ This 
I pray,  that  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and 
more  in  knowledge  and  in  all  judgment,  that  ye 
may  approve  things  that  are  excellent ; that  ye 
may  be  sincere  and  without  offense  until  the  day 
of  Christ,  being  filled  with  the  fruits  of  right- 
eousness, which  are  by  Jesus  Christ,  unto  the 
praise  and  glory  of  God.”  (Philippians  i,  10,  11.) 
What  is  the  result?  This  Christian  development 
lifts  us  up  to  the  highest  plane  of  Christian 


48 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


character  and  Christian  activities,  widens  our 
views  of  duty  and  obligations,  opens  our  heart 
and  makes  it  like  that  of  God,  ready  to  take  in 
the  dying  and  undying  interests  of  every  human 
being;  leads  us  out  of  ourselves  to  seek  and  to 
bless  others ; the  most  remote  and  the  most  aban- 
doned, that  they  might  be  renewed  in  the  image 
of  Him  who  is  “ the  brightness  of  the  Father’s 
glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his  person.”  (He- 
brews i,  3.)  Now  if  this  kind  of  self  culture 
leads  us  out  of  ourselves  to  bless  the  most  remote 
and  the  most  abandoned , what  will  it  not  lead  us 
to  do  for  our  own  child  ? What  will  it  not  lead 
us  to  plan  and  to  execute  for  the  well-being  of  the 
children,  whom  God  has  committed  to  our  imme- 
diate care?  If  parents  thus  cultivated  will  care 
for  strangers,  will  they  neglect  their  own  off- 
spring? If  they  will  give,  and  do,  and  suffer  to 
recreate  the  heathen,  will  they  suffer  their  own 
offspring  to  grow  up  in  ignorance,  or  vice,  and 
crime?  Impossible!  With  enlarged  hearts  and 
the  highest  conceptions  of  their  duty  to  their 
God,  their  own  children,  and  their  own  country, 
they  will  diligently  labor  to  make  every  child  in- 
telligent, holy,  and  useful  to  God  and  to  man. 

Hence,  they  will  not  only  instruct  their  chil- 
dren, they  will  also  guard  them  against  evil  com- 
panions and  evil  influences  of  every  kind.  “ As 


FOURTH  CONDITION. 


49 


an  eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest,  fluttereth  over  her 
young,  spreadeth  abroad  her  wings,  taketh  them, 
beareth  them  on  her  wings.”  (Deut.  xxxii,  11,  12.)J 

So  will  the  intelligent,  faithful,  Christian  par- 
ent and  guardian  take  their  children,  teach  them; 
pray  for  them ; pray  over  them ; guide  them  into 
the  path  of  knowledge,  and  holiness,  and  right- 
eousness, till  they  have  moral  strength  and  power 
to  accept  the  divine  challenge,  “ Who  will  rise  up 
for  me  against  the  evil  doers?  or,  who  will  stand 
up  for  me  against  the  workers  of  iniquity?” 
(Psalm  xciv,  16.) 

These  four  conditions  fulfilled,  I believe  a 
child  can  be  successfully  trained  in  the  way  he 
should  go ; for  they  will  place  the  family  in  pe- 
culiar relations  to  the  throne  of  God. 

a . I believe  there  will  be  a communication  be- 
tween it  and  the  Almighty,  more  real  than  the 
ladder  which  Jacob  saw  in  his  wonderful  dream. 

b.  Angels  of  love  and  mercy  shall  descend  to 
bear  the  blessings  of  God  into  the  opened  lap, 


1 “ The  eagle  is  remarkable  for  her  tender  care  of  her 
young  and  for  the  pains  that  she  uses,  and  the  methods 
which  she  employs  in  teaching  them  to  fly ; stirring  them 
up  out  of  their  nest,  fluttering  in  the  air  over  them  to 
show  them  how  to  use  their  wings,  and  even  carrying  them 
upon  her  wings,  so  that  in  order  to  destroy  the  young 
eagles,  the  body  of  the  old  one  must,  on  some  occasions 
first  be  pierced.”  See  Scott’s  Commentary  in  loco. 

4 


50 


D OMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


the  outstretched  arms,  and  the  loving  bosom  of 
that  devout  and  trusting  household. 

c.  There  shall  be  guardian  angels  round  about 
it  to  defend  it  from  danger ; to  guide  it  into  the 
path  of  duty,  to  dissipate  its  fears,  and  to  ani- 
mate its  hopes.  This  is  not  a mere  poetic  picture. 
It  is  a reality,  even  as  the  psalmist  declares; 
u The  angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round  about 
them  that  fear  him  and  delivereth  them.”  (Psalm 
xxxiv,  7;  xci,  10,  11,  12;  Hebrews  i,  13,  14.) 
Moreover,  one  by  one  the  father  or  the  mother, 
the  son  or  the  daughter  shall  ascend,  led  by  the 
guardian  angels  up  to  the  mansions  of  love  and 
life  everlasting.  (Psalm  cxii,  1-3;  Judges  xiii; 
Matthew  xviii,  10 ; Zechariah  iii,  6,  7.) 

If  the  Almighty  Father  has  favorites,  such 
families  are  his  favorites.  If  there  be  one  spot 
on  earth  more  flowery  more  fragrant,  more  beau- 
tiful than  another,  upon  which  the  eyes  of  the 
Creator  delight  to  gaze,  it  is  upon  such  a spot. 
If  there  be  one  family  with  far  more  capacity 
for  receiving  good  and  more  ability  for  producing 
good  than  any  other  it  is  that  devout  and  godlike 
family.1 

1See  Isaiah  iv,  5,  and  the  Comment  of  Lange  in  loco , 
page  81.  But  for  the  benefit  of  such  of  my  readers  as 
have  not  Lange,  and  may  never  be  able  to  purchase  his 
Commentary  on  Isaiah,  I give  the  passage  here:  “ ‘Assem- 
blies’ is  evidently  in  contrast  with  every  dwelling,  and 


FOURTH  CONDITION. 


51 


I close  this  chapter  by  saying,  when  these 
four  conditions  are  fulfilled  the  child  or  the  chil- 
dren trained  under  them  can  not  fail,  in  many 
instances,  to  develop  an  interesting  character;  in 
almost  all  cases,  a good  character;  and  in  some 
cases  a grand  character,  with  inherent  and  ac- 
quired abilities  to  work  effectually  for  the  well- 
being of  mankind.* 1 

What  gave  Abraham  his  power  with  God, 
and  his  power  over  man?  It  was  his  personal 
consecration?  What  made  his  family  and  his 
household  greater  than  those  of  the  surround- 
ing heathen  ? It  was  his  consecration  of  that 
household  to  the  service  of  the  only  true  God. 

declares  that  the  sign  of  Jehovah  shall  hover  over  both 
the  dwellings  of  individual  families  and  over  the  assembled 
total  of  the  nation.  Every  single  house , as  well  as  the  house 
of  Jacob  as  a whole,  shall  be  God’s  holy  tabernacle,  as 
formerly  the  typical  Tabernacle  was  alone.”  The  words 
emphatic  I have  taken  the  liberty  to  italicize. 

1 On  this  interesting  subject  Rev.  A.  Yinet,  one  of  the 
best  French  thinkers,  says : “ Christianity,  simply  compre- 
hended and  simply  applied,  prevents,  without  contradic- 
tion, the  grossest  errors.  The  Gospel  is,  for  things  essen- 
tial, the  best  treatise  on  education,  and,  in  general,  the 
child  brought  up  Christianly  is  a child  well  raised.” 
(“  Le  Christianisme,  compris  simplement  et  simplement 
applique,  previent  sans  contredit  les  plus  grosses  erreurs ; 
l’evangile  est,  pour  les  choses  essentielles,  le  meilleur 
traite  d’edueation,  et,  en  general,  l’enfant  eleve  Chretienne 
ment  est  un  enfant  bien  61eve.”)  “L’  Education,  la  Fam- 
ille  et  la  Societe.”  page  7. 


52 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


Who  are  to  be  the  mighty  ones  upon  this  earth, 
enlightening  it  by  their  intelligence,  blessing  it 
by  their  practical  wisdom,  exalting  it  by  their 
godly  examples  ? The  seed  of  the  righteous. 

When  the  divine  command  was  given  to  the 
first  matrimonial  pair,  “Be  fruitful  and  multiply 
and  replenish  the  earth,”  the  end  of  that  man- 
date was  to  produce  a holy  offspring  like  unto 
themselves,  for  they  were  then  holy.  This  fact 
proves  that  the  home  was  designed  to  be  a con- 
secrated one,  in  which  children  should  be  raised 
in  a pure  atmosphere  and  prepared  to  develop  a 
personal  history  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  will 
of  God,  as  we  find  that  will  expressed  in  the  di- 
vine command,  “Train  up  a child  i the  way  he 
should  go.”  (Psa.  cxii,  1-3.) 


WHEN  TO  BEGIN  TRAINING. 


53 


VI. 

WHEN  TO  BEGIN  THE  TRAINING  OF  A CHILD. 

THE  period  when  we  ought  to  begin  the  train- 
ing of  a child  is  a question  of  too  great 
importance  to  be  ignored  in  an  essay  like  this; 
therefore,  we  enter  at  once  upon  its  discussion  by 
saying,  We  ought  to  begin  to  train  a child  as 
soon  as  it  comes  into  this  world.  Naturally,  this 
early  training  must  be : 

a . Physical . That  body,  of  which  the  psalmist 
spoke,  when  he  said,  “ I will  praise  thee,  for 
I am  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made  ” (Psa. 
cxxxix,  14),  differs  not  from  the  body  of  the 
infant  of  yesterday’s  birth,  be  that  infant  Asiatic, 
European,  or  African,  Shemitic,  Hamitic,  or 
Japhetic.  However  they  may  differ  in  the  color 
of  their  skin  or  the  texture  and  color  of  their 
hair,  their  anatomical,  physiological,  and  psycho- 
logical structure  is  alike,  and  constructed  after  one 
common  type.  They  are  all  of  one  flesh  and  one 
blood.  (Acts  xvii,  26 ; et  Genesis  i,  26,  27.) 

By  the  eternal  and  unchangeable  decree , the 
same  bones  and  muscles,  the  same  veins  and  arte- 


54 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


ries,  the  varied  tissues  and  nervous  system  mark 
them  and  classify  them  as  man ; made  of  the 
dust  of  the  earth  and  destined  (after  a limited 
period)  back  to  dust  again.  To  strengthen,  in- 
vigorate, and  develop  this  body,  so  as  to  make  it 
strong  and  powerful  and  long  lived,  and  to  keep 
it  all  the  time  in  healthy  action,  is  the  first  duty 
of  the  mother  or  the  guardian. 

This  duty  begins  with  cleanliness  and  comfort — 
cleanliness  produced  by  the  daily  bath ; and  com- 
fort, by  sufficient  clothing  of  the  right  texture  and 
the  right  or  proper  fit;  such  a texture  and  such 
a fit  as  will  preserve  the  natural  temperature  and 
free  movement  of  the  infant’s  body.  And  inas- 
much as,  for  many  months  after  birth,  the  infant 
is  to  draw  its  food  entirely  from  its  mother’s 
body — that  is,  its  mother’s  milk — and,  as  the 
mother’s  milk  can  be  affected  by  the  food  she 
daily  eats,  she  ought  to  be  careful  to  feed  her- 
self with  the  most  nutritious  food,  in  order  that 
her  baby  may  be  the  stronger  for  it.  To  protect 
it  from  draughts  or  sudden  currents  of  air  is 
essential  to  the  preservation  of  her  baby’s  health  ; 
and,  therefore,  the  mother  ought  to  be  very  cautious 
about  the  bed,  crib,  or  cradle  in  which  she  places 
her  infant  to  sleep,  lest  a cold  be  struck  into  its 
body  that  may  terminate  in  death.  The  mother 
should  avoid  the  rough  handling  of  her  baby, 


WHEN  TO  BEGIN  TRAINING . 


55 


either  by  herself  or  by  others.  She  should  care- 
fully train  the  eyes  to  observe  the  forms  and 
colors  of  things,  the  ear  to  the  distinction  of 
sounds,  and  the  touch  to  the  difference  in  textures 
and  surfaces,  between  surfaces,  so  far  as  round- 
ness and  flatness  may  be  perceived  by  the  touch 
as  well  as  by  the  sight ; also,  the  differences  be- 
tweenroughness  and  smoothness. 

And  mothers  should  also  be  careful  to  have 
their  babies  sleeping  always  in  pure  air,  and 
modified — that  is,  softened — light  as  well  as  pure 
air,  because  light  as  well  as  air  is  conducive  to 
health.  They  should  so  train  their  children  as 
to  render  them  capable  of  enduring  heat  and 
cold,  exercise  and  fatigue,  in  order  that,  when 
the  age  of  ripened  manhood  and  womanhood  be 
attained,  they  may  be  robust  and  fitted  for  any 
kind  of  manual  or  mental  labor.  But,  inasmuch 
as  accomplished  physicians  and  physiologists  have 
written  elaborately  on  such  topics,  I refer  moth- 
ers to  their  works  for  particular  instruction.1 

When  we  remember  that  the  body  is  to  the 
mind  what  a fine  instrument  is  to  a mechanic,  we 
shall  see  how  important  it  is  that  we  diligently 

1 The  readers  of  this  essay  will  find  most  valuable  in- 
formation and  suggestions  in  a work  entitled,  “ Mothers  and 
Daughters,”  by  Dr.  Tullio  Luzzard  Verdi.  See,  also,  a 
recent  work  on  “ Physiology  and  Hygiene,”  by  Dr.  R.  T. 
Brown,  of  Indiana  University. 


56 


DOMESTIC  ED  VC  A TION. 


labor  to  develop,  train,  and,  if  possible,  secure 
strong  and  vigorous  bodies  for  the  duties  and 
the  work  of  life.  All  the  tools  of  the  mechanic, 
such  as  the  saw,  the  chisel,  the  jack-plane,  the 
smoothing-plane,  the  fore-plane,  the  hatchet,  and 
the  hammer  should  always  be  kept  in  good  con- 
dition, because,  by  so  doing,  he  not  only  saves 
time,  and  dispatches  work ; but  he  also  produces 
more  finished  work ; so,  also,  ought  every  mem- 
ber of  a child’s  body  be  kept  in  good  condition, 
in  order  that  he  may  be  able  to  do  the  best  kind 
of  work  in  the  shortest  given  time,  whether  the 
work  be  in  the  physical  realm  or  in  the  higher 
regions  of  morality  and  religion. 

The  mental  training  is  as  far  above  the  physi- 
cal as  mind  is  above  matter;  therefore,  if  the 
physical  training  of  a child  demands  our  daily 
attention  and  diligence  in  order  that  a fine  and 
powerful  physique  may  be  developed,  we  ought 
to  give  intensified  attention  and  diligence  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  mental  nature  of  a child. 

The  body  dies.  The  mind  lives  forever.  The 
body  is  the  instrument,  the  mind  is  the  mechanic. 
If  the  instruments  ought  to  be  well  fitted  for  use, 
the  mechanic  should  be  rendered  better  fitted  to 
use  them.  To  use  them  aright,  he  needs  intelli- 
gence and  skill.  Intelligence  comes  from  instruc- 
tion and  study,  skill  from  practice  and  experience. 


WHEN  TO  BEGIN  TRAINING. 


57 


The  mind  of  a child  is  a very  complex  thing. 
It  embraces  three  different  things — the  intellect, 
the  sensibility,  the  will.  By  the  first  we  acquire 
knowledge.  By  the  second  we  love  or  hate,  are 
miserable  or  happy,  are  pure  or  impure,  are  be- 
loved of  God  and  man  or  detested  by  both.  By 
the  third,  viz.,  the  will,  we  purpose  and  execute 
the  good  or  the  evil;  we  obey  law,  order,  gov- 
ernment or  we  trample  them  under  our  feet. 
This  will  “is  the  rudder  which,  after  all,  guides 
the  course  of  the  vessel  even  when  it  is  impelled 
by  sails  or  by  oars  inclining  now  to  the  one  side 
and  now  to  the  other.”1 

The  will  embraces  both  choice  and  freedom ; 
choice  of  the  good  or  choice  of  the  bad ; freedom 
to  reject  the  good  and  to  embrace  the  bad,  to  fly 
up  to  heaven  or  leap  into  hell.2 

The  proper  training  of  the  will  is,  therefore, 
of  the  first  importance  in  molding  and  coloring 
the  character  of  a child.  I shall,  therefore,  begin 
with  this.  This  truth  leads  me  now  and  here  to 
say  that  in  training  the  mental  activities,  the  first 
lesson  which  the  mother  ought  to  give  her  child  is 
obedience  to  herself. 

She  stands  in  the  stead  of  the  Creator,  and  is 

*Dr.  McCosh  on  “The  Emotions,”  page  27. 

2 “ Outline  Study  of  Man,”  by  Dr.  Mark  Hopkins,  pages 
224,  225. 


58 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION . 


charged  by  him  with  this  high  and  important 
duty.  Order,  law,  and  gavernment  are  of  divine 
origin,  ordained  for  the  well-being  of  intelligent 
creatures — all  of  whom  are  the  subjects  of  God’s 
government.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  secure 
the  well-being  of  the  child,  that  these  ideas,  these 
truths,  and  these  facts  should  be  impressed  upon 
the  infant  mind,  in  order  that  they  may  grow 
with  its  growth  through  childhood,  youth,  and 
early  manhood. 

The  mother,  therefore,  must  begin  to  teach 
the  infant  the  difference  between  what  is  fit  and 
what  is  not  fit  for  it  to  have;  what  is  proper  or 
not  proper  for  it  to  do;  what  is  right  and  what 
is  wrong  in  thought,  word,  or  deed.  In  all  this 
kind  of  work,  which  the  mother  must  daily  per- 
form, she  will  find  the  will  of  her  child  very 
often  in  conflict  with  her  duty.  Now , then , she 
must  enforce  the  law  of  obedience,  which  her  infant 
child,  as  yet,  can  not  understand ; but  which,  not- 
withstanding, she  must  enforce.  Foolish  cavilers 
say  this  is  unreasonable.  To  which  objection  we 
reply  by  saying : In  so  doing  we  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Creator  himself,  who  requires  us  to 
obey  many  laws  which  we  do  not  understand, 
and  some  which  we  may  never  be  able  to  com- 
prehend till  we  be  landed  in  the  spirit  world. 
Perhaps  not  then.  To  require  obedience  of  an 


WHEN  TO  BEGIN  TRAINING. 


59 


infant  but  two  or  three  weeks  old  is,  perhaps, 
the  most  difficult  and  painful  duty  of  a mother  — 
the  most  difficult,  because  it  is  hard  for  a mother 
to  believe  that  so  young  a moral  agent  is  able 
to  obey ; the  most  painful,  because  of  the  ten- 
derness of  a mother’s  love.  Love  says,  “ The  baby 
desires  this,  therefore,  the  baby  must  have  it.” 
But  what  does  reason  reply  ? Her  reply  is,  “ This 
very  thing  will  be  injurious  to  the  health  of  the 
child,  and,  therefore,  it  must  be  withheld.  Will 
a reasonable  mother  give  to  her  baby  that  which 
she  knows  will  damage  its  health,  perhaps  en- 
danger its  life?  Surely  not.  Here,  then,  is  an 
instance  where  the  baby  must  obey,  although  it 
can  not  understand. 

Take  another  illustration.  A baby  sees  in  the 
hand  of  an  elder  brother  or  sister  a glittering 
knife.  Its  very  beauty  excites  desire.  Will  the 
reasonable  mother  put  such  an  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  her  infant  because  that  infant  desires  it 
or  even  cries  for  it?  Surely  not.  Here,  then,  is 
another  instance  in  which  a child  must  be  made 
to  obey  when  it  can  not  understand.  Cases  of 
this  kind  can  be  multiplied  without  number  to 
prove  that  a child,  though  very  young,  must  yield 
its  will  to  that  of  its  mother,  though  it  be  not 
able  to  understand  the  law  of  obedience,  much 
less  the  reasons  upon  which  it  is  based. 


60 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


Again,  a foolish  love  will  say  to  the  mother^ 
“ The  baby  desires  that  glass  of  wine  because  it 
looks  beautiful,  and,  therefore,  it  is  cruel  to  with- 
hold what  the  baby  wants.”  Will  a sensible 
mother  listen  to  such  falsehood?  Does  she  not 
know  it  is  far  more  cruel  to  give  her  baby  such 
a thing  than  to  withhold  it?  Will  she  sacrifice 
the  future  of  her  baby  to  the  present?  But  a 
foolish  love  will  gratify  the  present  though  it  may 
plunge  the  future  of  the  child  into  the  drunkard’s 
habits,  the  drunkard’s  grave,  and  the  drunkard’s 
hell. 

But  a reasonable  mother,  guided  by  a wise 
love,  will  say,  “ now  or  never”  “ Now  or  never 
is  the  time  to  begin  to  train  my  child  for  useful- 
ness and  for  heaven.”  Now  or  never  is  the  hour 
to  begin  to  teach  the  all-important  lesson  of  obe- 
dience ; because,  in  that  is  the  seed  of  every  thing 
that  is  noble,  beautiful,  and  great  in  human  char- 
acter. Now  is  the  moment  to  teach  a new-born 
babe — a young  immortal,  the  duty  of  obedience  to 
parents,  because  the  Creator  has  placed  them  in 
his  stead  to  impress  the  infant  moral  agent  with 
the  sublime  ideas  of  order,  law,  and  government. 

The  moral  is  also  an  element  of  the  mental . The 
moral  lesson  is  a higher  lesson  to  teach  than  the 
intellectual ; because  the  moral  nature  of  a hu- 
man being  is  above  the  intellectual ; as  far  above 


WHEN  TO  BEGIN  TRAINING. 


61 


the  intellectual  as  the  intellectual  is  above  the 
physical.  The  towering  intellect  of  an  archangel 
can  not  secure  to  any  man  or  woman  admittance 
into  heaven;  but  the  humble,  believing,  contrite 
spirit  will  obtain  abundant  entrance  therein.  In 
the  final  judgment  day  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
humble,  obedient,  pure  morality  will  eclipse,  the 
proud,  inflated,  disobedient,  conceited,  intellectu- 
ality. “Behold,  to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice, 
and  to  hearken  than  the  fat  of  lambs ; for  rebell- 
ion is  as  the  sin  of  witchcraft,  and  stubbornness 
as  iniquity  and  idolatry.”  (1  Samuel  xv,  22,  23.) 

On  account  of  his  disobedience  Saul,  the  first 
king  of  Israel,  lost  his  crown,  his  scepter,  and 
his  throne.  They  were  all  given  to  David  who, 
as  king  of  Israel,  did  obey  the  commandments  of 
the  Lord. 

As  obedience  is  so  important,  how  shall  par- 
ents begin  to  teach  it  to  so  young  a moral  agent 
as  a baby  ? Inflict  no  corporal  punishment  upon 
it.  Its  bones,  muscles,  and  nerves  are  too  deli- 
cate to  be  bruised,  or  in  any  manner  injured  by 
a slap  of  the  hand.  The  eye  must  speak  out  the 
command  to  obey ; the  voice  must  utter  the  ten- 
derness of  a mother’s  love.  When  the  determined 
will  is  seen  in  the  eye,  and  the  loving  heart  is 
felt  in  the  voice,  the  conscious  infant  will  soon 
learn  to  yield  to  a parent’s  command. 


62 


D OMES TIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


We  repeat,  the  important  duty,  first  of  all, 
and  above  all,  is  to  teach  the  infant  obedience  to 
the  mother  and  obedience  to  the  father,  because 
they  stand  in  God’s  place  to  enforce  the  idea 
and  the  duty  of  obedience  to  order,  law,  and  gov- 
ernment. No  human  regulation  of  Church  or 
state  has  required  this  at  the  hands  of  the  par- 
ents. God  himself  has  ordained  it.  He  ordained 
it  before  man  was  made — before  the  foundations 
of  the  earth  were  laid.  (Ephesians  i,  4.) 

The  third  time,  we  repeat,  the  first  lesson  to  be 
taught  by  the  mother  and  to  be  learned  by  the 
child  is  obedience  to  order,  law,  government,  and 
authority , which  creates  law,  order,  and  govern- 
ment. By  authority,  I mean  the  God  above  the 
parents. 

Moreover,  the  child  should  be  taught  that  the 
law  of  obedience  is  identical  with  the  law  of 
love.  He  ought  to  be  so  instructed  by  the  intel- 
ligent parents  as  always  to  feel  that  where  there 
is  a sincere  and  earnest  love,  there  will  be  a 
cheerful  and  ready  obedience  to  a government  whose 
yoke  is  easy  and  whose  burden  is  light. 

Parents  will  also  do  well  to  study  in  order 
that  they  may  know  the  truth,  that  obedience 
lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  a good  character. 
Therefore,  in  early  infancy  a child  ought  to  be 
taught  that  a good  character,  whether  it  mani- 


WHEN  TO  BEGIN  TRAINING. 


63 


fests  itself  on  a small  scale  or  a large  one,  in  a nar- 
row circle  or  a wide  one,  must  be  based  on  obedi- 
ence, and  is  a result  of  it ; and  still  more,  a child 
ought  to  be  taught  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
true  greatness  in  man  nor  woman  if  there  be  not 
the  love  of  order,  law,  and  government  in  the 
heart  of  that  man  or  that  woman  who  aspires  to 
greatness,  and  that  this  love  for  these  things  must 
be  in  their  hearty  as  a guiding,  regulating,  controll- 
ing principle. 

I will  add,  that  the  essential  principles  of 
moral  greatness  which  makes  the  grand  character , 
and,  therefore,  the  great  man  and  the  great 
woman,  should  not  only  be  inculcated  by  precept, 
but  also  by  lucid  examples  drawn  from  the  biog- 
raphy of  the  good  and  the  great  of  both  sexes — 
of  all  races  and  of  all  ages. 

Again,  what  is  a child  without  a character? 
What  is  character  without  goodness?  But  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  goodness  where  there  is  not  obe- 
dience. Goodness  and  greatness  in  man  or  in 
woman  ought  to  begin  with  infancy ; ought  to  run 
through  childhood  and  control  early  manhood 
and  early  womanhood.  Like  good  seed  in  good 
soil,  it  will  grow  with  their  growth,  and  in  ma- 
ture manhood  or  mature  womanhood  be  as  strong 
and  powerful  as  the  sturdy  oak. 

“ O,  no,”  says  the  objector,  “ the  child,  the 


G4 


D 0MEST1C  ED  UCA  TION. 


boy,  the  girl,  are  too  young.  Let  them  first  sow 
their  wild  oats,  after  that  let  them  be  good  by 
faith  and  repentance.” 

Such  reasoning  is  as  destructive  as  it  is  fool- 
ish. Does  not  the  objector  know  that  thousands 
of  children  and  youth  perish  in  the  very  act  of 
sowing  their  wild  oats?  And,  that  while  they 
are  ruining  themselves,  they  are  also  corrupting 
others  ? “ An  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a 

pound  of  cure.”  When  once  obedience  is  gained 
and  secured,  all  that  is  great  and  good  in  the  fu- 
ture of  that  child  is  also  gained  and  secured. 
Mother,  father,  parents,  keep  your  eyes  upon  the 
will  of  that  child;  hold  it,  guide  it,  bend  it  by 
the  power  and  the  light  of  law.  Tell  it  that  law 
expresses  the  will  of  God;  teach  it  the  truth  that 
God  is  love,  and,  therefore,  that  his  law  and  his 
love  are  one.  Teach  it  that  this  law  of  love 
must  be  written  and  hidden  in  its  heart  as  a treas- 
ure sweeter  than  honey,  more  precious  than  gold, 
more  desirable  than  life,  as  a rule  by  which  our 
actions  are  to  be  governed,  by  which  our  work 
is  to  be  measured  and  squared ; a lamp  to  his 
feet,  a ladder  of  light  by  which  he  may  ascend 
from  earth  to  heaven. 

But  infants  have  no  conception  of  law ; they 
can  not  see  that  God  who  creates  law,  but  they 
can  see  and  hear  the  mother,  they  can  see  and 


WHEN  TO  BEGIN  TRAINING . 


65 


hear  the  father,  therefore,  the  invisible  God  has 
authorized  the  mother  and  the  father  to  act  as 
his  agents  in  the  homestead  to  inculcate  the  duty 
and  the  love  of  obedience  to  law,  to  enforce  sub- 
mission to  parental  authority  which  represents 
the  authority  of  the  adorable  Creator.  Blessed 
are  that  mother  and  that  father  who  faithfully  dis- 
charge these  sacred  duties. 

5 


66 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


Cljkptef  VII. 

REASONS  FOR  TRAINING  A CHILD. 

1.  Family  Considerations.  We  have  seen 
that  a family  is  a miniature  state  and  a miniature 
Church;  that  there  is  a head,  the  father,  and 
his  coequal,  the  mother;  and  also  that  there  are 
members  to  these  heads — the  child  sometimes, 
and  in  most  cases,  children ; then  helpers,  some- 
times called  servants.  These  are  all  so  related 
that  if  one  be  injured,  all  are  more  or  less  in- 
jured, either  by  actual  damage,  as  in  the  loss  of 
property,  the  loss  of  health,  the  loss  of  reputa- 
tion ; or  by  sympathy,  a sympathy  often  so  deep 
as  to  affect  health,  and,  sometimes,  destructive 
of  life. 

a.  Thus,  a child  can  damage  the  well-being 
of  a whole  family  to  which  he  is  related  either 
by  the  ties  of  consanguinity  or  the  bonds  of  af- 
finity, more  especially  by  the  former. 

b.  If  he  be  a liar,  he  can  damage  his  brother, 
damage  his  sister,  damage  his  father,  and  damage 
his  mother. 

c.  A bad  child  can  disgrace  his  brother  and 


REASONS  FOR  TRAINING  A CHILD.  67 


sister,  his  father  and  his  mother,  if  he  be  a thief. 
So,  also,  a bad  child,  who  is  spiteful  and  mali- 
cious, can  injure  his  father  and  his  mother,  his 
sister  or  his  brother  by  some  felonious  act. 

d.  Moreover,  a bad  child  can  send  misery 
into  the  heart  of  his  sister,  of  his  brother,  of  his 
father,  and  of  his  mother.  All  this  he  can  do 
if  he  be  a drunkard  or  an  assassin. 

e.  But  who  can  express  the  anguish  of  a high- 
minded  parent  whose  daughter  will  sell  herself 
for  wealth,  for  silks,  for  satins,  for  jewelry  ? Is 
there  any  anguish  so  great  as  that  which  parents 
must  feel  when  a daughter  forsakes  her  virtue 
and  her  honor?  The  sorrow  of  such  unfortunate 
parents  becomes  intensified  if  their  own  moral 
sensibilities  have  been  purified  and  elevated  by 
the  Christian  spirit  and  the  Christian  teachings. 

/.  But,  not  to  speak  of  such  extreme  cases  of 
youthful  wickedness,  does  not  every  body  know 
that  a child  who  is  self-willed,  unruly,  disobe- 
dient, or  insolent,  can  literally  torment  all  the 
members  of  a family  to  which  he  belongs? 

g.  On  the  contrary,  a good  child  can  be  a 
source  of  comfort,  happiness,  honor,  and  joy  to  all 
around  him. 

h.  This  he  can  do  by  diligent  labor,  industry, 
and  thrift.  Such  a son  can  render  material  aid 
to  sickly,  or  feeble,  or  aged  indigent  parents. 


68 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


Here  is  a case  which  came  under  my  observa- 
tion. In  the  Winter  of  1881  there  was  living  at 
Jacksonville,  Florida,  a widow,  the  mother  of 
five  children — three  of  whom  were  girls,  and  in 
talents  far  above  their  surroundings.  The  two 
oldest  of  the  five  were  absent,  one  of  whom  was 
a young  woman  of  about  seventeen  years,  the 
other  a young  man  of  about  twenty.  This  mother 
is  slightly  built,  and,  therefore,  of  rather  feeble 
constitution.  Seeing  that  three  of  her  children 
were  dependent  on  her  for  food,  raiment,  and 
shelter,  I requested  her  to  tell  me  how  she  man- 
aged to  support  them.  She  answered,  and  said, 
“ By  my  sewing-machine  and  the  aid  of  my  oldest 
son.”  Said  I,  how  much  does  he  give  you? 
Said  she,  “ One-half  of  what  he  earns  he  gives 
me  every  month.  If  he  earns  twenty  dollars,  he 
gives  me  ten;  if  eighteen,  he  gives  me  nine;  if 
sixteen,  he  gives  me  eight.”  Noble  son,  said  I, 
God  will  bless  him  because  he  cares  for  his 
mother. 

In  the  Winter  of  1882  I again  visited  that 
family,  and,  inquiring  after  the  oldest  son,  I was 
informed  that  he  was  in  Boston,  laboring  to 
make  sufficient  money  to  purchase  for  his  mother 
the  neat  little  cottage  in  which  she  was  living. 
I know  of  two  other  sons  who  are  doing  the 
same  good  things  for  their  widowed  mothers. 


REASONS  FOR  TRAINING  A CHILD . 69 


Take  another  example.  An  aged  father  of 
seventy-two  years  was  the  steward  of  a hotel  in 
Georgetown,  D.  C.  On  a cold,  freezing,  and 
sleety  morning  of  the  Winter  of  1848,  he  started 
from  his  home  to  discharge  his  duties,  and  was 
descending  the  steps  which  connected  his  elevated 
yard  to  the  pavement,  when  he  slipped  and  broke 
his  leg.  This  circumstance  compelled  him  to  go 
on  crutches  for  seven  years,  unable  to  earn  so 
much  as  a penny  a day.  But  he  had  two  affec- 
tionate daughters  who  were  mantua-makers,  and 
who  were  well  trained  in  domestic  habits.  This 
they  made  manifest  in  the  ample  support  which 
they  wrought  for  him  by  their  scissors,  needle 
and  thread,  till  he  peacefully  entered  his  grave 
at  the  advanced  age  of  about  eighty-two,  bless- 
ing Almighty  God  for  giving  him  such  dutiful 
daughters.  In  the  same  affectionate  manner  they 
supported  their  infirm  mother,  who  died  at  the 
still  greater  age  of  about  eighty-four  years,  in- 
voking the  blessings  of  heaven  upon  their  grate- 
ful children. 

Lastly.  I knew  an  interesting  young  man, 
by  trade  a barber,  who  lived  the  life  of  a bach- 
elor till  he  was  over  thirty  years  of  age,  in  order 
that  he  might  have  the  wherewith  to  support  his 
aged,  infirm,  and  widowed  mother. 

I can  produce  a noble  list  of  such  instances 


70 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


of  filial  devotion,  showing  how  well-trained  chil- 
dren can  make  the  homes  of  aged  parents  honor- 
able, comfortable,  and  joyful. 

And  what  shall  I say  of  the  well-trained 
daughter  who  develops  into  an  earnest  Christian 
teacher  of  children  and  youth  ? Higher  and 
nobler  still,  what  shall  I say  of  the  well-trained 
daughter  or  son  who  develops  and  rises  to  the 
standard  of  an  earnest  Christian  educator ; whose 
school-house,  whose  recitation- room  is  to  her  or 
to  him  a genuine  workshop  in  which  the  intel- 
lect is  trained  to  look  and  to  aim  heavenward — 
the  heart  to  love  only  the  pure,  and  the  useful, 
and  the  good — and  the  will  to  bend  in  reverential 
submission  to  law , order , government , authority f 
Moreover,  what  shall  I say  of  the  son  whose  de- 
velopment lifts  him  up  to  the  rank  of  a faithful 
minister  of  the  Gospel  of  salvation? 

At  the  same  time  that  they  are  a real  source  of 
comfort  and  joy  to  their  parents,  they  also  reflect 
beams  of  honor,  and  glory,  and  power,  upon  the 
paternal  homestead.  Of  such  wise  and  loving 
parents  we  may  say  that  humanity  will  hold  them 
in  everlasting  esteem  and  reverence. 


RACE  CONSIDERATIONS. 


71 


dtjkptei*  VIII. 

RACE  CONSIDERATIONS  REQUIRE  SUCH  TRAIN- 
ING. 

I ASCEND  a step  higher,  and  say  that  race 
considerations  require  us  to  train  a child  in 
the  way  he  should  go. 

a.  What  the  families  of  a race  are  the  race 
will  be — nothing  more,  nothing  less.  If  you  cor- 
rupt the  families  so  that  they  shall  become  igno- 
rant, vicious,  criminal,  godless,  you  will  also 
corrupt  the  race  springing  from  them. 

6.  Therefore,  their  fecundity  will  be  dimin- 
ished. Enervated  and  debauched  constitutions 
soon  cease  to  be  fruitful.  The  wickedness  of  a 
race  will  smite  them  with  barrenness,  and  their 
progeny  shall  be  weak  and  few. 

c.  The  vices  and  crimes  of  families  will  also 
curtail  the  longevity  of  the  race  which  they  repre- 
sent, so  that  the  race  itself  will  ultimately  become 
extinct.  Should  the  sword  of  extermination  be 
unsheathed  against  a race  there  are  two  ways  of 
escape  for  it.  The  one  is  by  flight  from  the 
exterminator,  the  other  is  by  superior  prowess 


72 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


and  military  skill  in  the  field  of  battle.  But, 
when  a race  corrupts  itself  by  ignorance,  vice, 
and  crime,  no  earthly  power  can  save  it,  for  it  is 
then  in  the  dilemma  of  a man  who  has  drawn  a 
razor  across  his  own  throat,  cutting  it  from  ear 
to  ear ! 

d.  But,  if  the  families  of  a race  will  make 
themselves  intelligent,  virtuous,  and  godly  it  will 
bring  down  upon  itself  blessings  from  heaven 
above,  and  blessings  from  the  earth  below.  The 
omniscient,  omnipresent,  and  omnipotent  God  will 
be  to  them  the  inexhaustible  fountain  of  bless- 
ings, for  he  is  the  Father  of  all  the  families  of  the 
earth,  the  God  of  its  races  and  the  king  and  pre- 
server of  its  nations.  Let  us  contemplate  some  of 
the  blessings  which  he  has  promised  to  the  races 
who  will  make  themselves  intelligent,  wise,  under- 
standing, and  godlike. 

When  he  was  preparing  the  Hebrew  race  for 
national  functions  he  instructed  them  as  carefully 
as  the  most  wise  and  loving  father  would  instruct 
his  only  son,  tenderly  beloved,  in  the  conditions 
of  success  in  life  and  throughout  life — life  in  the 
present  world  and  life  in  the  world  to  come. 

1.  He  taught  them  that  to  obey  his  law,  stat- 
utes, and  judgments  uniformly,  diligently,  and 
cheerfully,  was  the  first  condition  of  success — that 
is,  of  prosperity. 


RACE  CONSIDER  A TIONS. 


73 


2.  That  to  love  this  law,  these  statutes,  and 
these  judgments  was  a second  condition  of  well- 
being. Now  let  us  see  what  he  meant  by  well- 
being— that  is,  prosperity  in  its  most  compre- 
hensive signification. 

a.  Material  blessings.  Hear  what  Moses,  their 
wise  and  good  legislator,  said : u Thou  shalt, 
therefore,  keep  the  commandments  and  the  stat- 
utes and  the  judgments  which  I command  thee 
this  day,  to  do  them.  Wherefore,  it  shall  come 
to  pass,  if  ye  hearken  to  these  judgments,  and 
keep  and  do  them,  that  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  keep 
unto  thee  the  covenant  and  the  mercy,  which  he 
sware  unto  thy  fathers.  And  he  will  love  thee 
and  bless  thee,  and  multiply  thee ; he  will  also 
bless  the  fruit  of  thy  womb,  and  the  fruit  of  thy 
land,  thy  corn  and  thy  wine,  and  thine  oil,  the 
increase  of  thy  kine,  and  the  flocks  of  thy 
sheep  in  the  land  which  he  sware  unto  thy  fathers 
to  give  thee.  Thou  shalt  be  blessed  above  all 
people,  there  shall  not  be  male  or  female  among 
you  barren  or  among  your  cattle.”  (Deute- 
ronomy vii,  11-14.) 

In  this  beautiful  passage  we  are  taught  two 
things:  (1.)  That  obedience  to  God’s  laws,  stat- 
utes, and  judgments  excites  and  secures  his  love; 
and  (2.)  that  his  love  is  manifested  by  many  ma- 
terial blessings  which  he  multiplies  unto  all  who 


74 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


honor  his  law.  .(Deuteronomy  viii,  11-18.)  Of 
the  same  import  is  the  xxviii,  1-14,  which  ex- 
pands the  ideas  and  the  correspondent  facts. 

Hear,  also,  what  the  greatest  of  ancient  kings 
and  warriors  teaches  in  the  one  hundred  and  twelfth 
Psalm : “ Blessed  is  the  man  that  feareth  the 
Lord,  that  delighteth  greatly  in  his  command- 
ments. His  seed  shall  be  mighty  upon  earth ; 
the  generation  of  the  upright  shall  be  blessed. 
Wealth  and  riches  shall  be  in  his  house.” 

This  divine  promise  includes  commerce,  agri- 
culture, live  stock  of  all  kinds,  mining  and  bank- 
ing in  silver  and  gold,  as  much  as  is  necessary  for 
a race  to  possess. 

b.  Well-being  also  includes  fecundity.  The 
promise  which  God  made  to  the  ancestors  of  Is- 
rael was,  that  their  descendants  should  be  aas 
numerous  as  the  stars  of  heaven  and  as  the  dust 
which  is  upon  the  earth,  and  as  the  sand  which  is 
upon  the  seashore.”  (Genesis  xiii,  16;  xxii,  17; 
xxviii,  14.) 

c.  These  promises  were  made  to  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob  at  a time  when  each  of  them 
was  at  the  head  of  an  isolated  family,  wandering 
in  a foreign  land.  About  three  centuries  after, 
and  when  God  was  about  to  introduce  them  into 
the  promised  land,  and  to  establish  them  in  it 
as  successors  of  the  ungodly  Canaanites,  he  made 


RACE  CONSIDERATIONS. 


75 


them  clearly  and  emphatically  to  understand  that 
hearty  and  uniform  obedience  to  all  his  laws  was 
a condition  of  longevity . 

Again,  I quote  Moses  says  he,  “Thou  shalt 
keep,  therefore,  his  statutes  and  his  command- 
ments which  I command  thee  this  day,  that  it 
may  go  well  with  thee,  and  with  thy  children  after 
thee,  and  that  thou  mayest  prolong  thy  days  upon 
the  earth , which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee  for- 
ever” (Deuteronomy  iv,  40.) 

The  promise  of  longevity  is  repeated  again  in 
the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  as  many  as  five  times. 
But,  in  every  instance,  it  is  dependent  upon 
obedience  to  the  divine  law.  A single  reflection 
will  clearly  show  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
God  in  making  the  one  dependent  upon  the 
other.  For  what  is  the  value  of  wealth,  riches, 
and  fecundity  to  him  who  can  not  live  to  enjoy 
them?  The  Creator  has,  therefore,  graciously 
and  logically  linked  them  together. 

c.  There  is,  also,  another  promised  blessing  that 
he  has  connected  with  wealth,  fecundity,  and  lon- 
gevity. It  is  race  and  national  exaltation.  Hear 
what  he  saith,  “Keep,  therefore,  and  do  them;  for 
this  is  your  wisdom  and  your  understanding  in  the 
sight  of  the  nations,  which  shall  hear  all  these  stat- 
utes and  say,  Surely  this  great  nation  is  a wise  and 
understanding  people.  For  what  nation  is  there  so 


76 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


great,  who  hath  God  so  nigh  unto  them,  as  the 
Lord  our  God  is  in  all  things  that  we  call  upon 
him  for?  And  what  nation  is  there  so  great  that 
hath  statutes  and  judgments  so  righteous,  as  all 
this  law,  which  I set  before  you  this  day  ?”  (Deu- 
teronomy iv,  6,  7,  8.) 

Listen,  again,  to  what  the  God  of  the  races 
and  the  King  of  the  nations  hath  said : “ The 
Lord  shall  open  unto  thee  his  good  treasure,  the 
heaven  to  give  the  rain  unto  thy  land  in  his  sea- 
son, and  to  bless  all  the  work  of  thine  hand ; and 
thou  shalt  lend  unto  many  nations,  and  thou  shalt 
not  borrow.  And  the  Lord  shall  make  thee  the 
head  and  not  the  tail ; and  thou  shalt  be  above 
only,  and  thou  shalt  not  be  beneath ; if  thou 
hearken  unto  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  thy 
God,  which  I command  thee  this  day,  to  observe 
and  to  do  them.”  (Deuteronomy  xxviii,  12,  14.) 

The  force  of  all  these  divine  promises  is  seen 
and  felt  in  the  history  of  the  Israelites,  as  that 
history  spreads  itself  over  a period  of  three  thou- 
sand years.  It  is  also  seen  and  felt  in  the  com- 
parative history  of  all  the  Christian  nations  of  the 
present  hour. 

Even  now,  while  I am  writing,  the  condition 
of  the  races  and  nations  which  are  the  most 
Christian,  and  the  relation  of  these  races  and  na- 
tions to  the  surrounding  heathen,  illustrate  their 


RACE  CONSIDERATIONS . 


77 


superiority,  at  the  same  time  that  they  confirm 
the  truthfulness  and  amazing  compass  of  the 
divine  promises. 

I here  take  the  liberty  to  express  the  opinion 
that  the  more  thoroughly  Christian  a race  be- 
comes in  its  laws,  its  spirit,  and  its  customs,  the 
greater  will  be  its  superiority  over  races  less 
Christian  in  these  qualities. 

d.  This  beautiful  and  gracious  promise  of  the 
God  of  all  the  earth  gives  us  still  higher  and 
nobler  elements  of  well-being  than  wealth,  riches, 
fecundity,  and  longevity.  They  are  the  intel- 
lectual, the  moral,  and  the  spiritual — wisdom  or 
understanding.  The  intellectual  part  of  man  re- 
lates to  the  knowing  faculty  of  the  mind;  it  is 
that  which  perceives,  cognizes,  and  recognizes  the 
difference  and  the  distinctions  of  the  ego  and  the 
non-ego — it  is  that  which  acquires  knowledge, 
and  is  increasing  it  more  and  more  throughout 
all  time,  and  in  all  eternity.  It  is  that,  there- 
fore, which  pre-eminently  distinguishes  man  from 
the  most  intelligent  of  the  brutes  and  one  man 
from  another. 

e.  But  there  is  another  element  which  I be- 
lieve to  be  greater  than  the  intellectual ; it  is  the 
moral,  that  which  relates  to  our  duties  and  our 
obligations  to  our  fellow-men,  whether  they  be 
so  by  consanguinity  or  by  affinity,  whether  they 


78 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION . 


be  allied  friends  or  hostile  enemies,  be  they  Chris- 
tians or  heathens.  It  is  the  conscience  in  man 
that  tells  him  this  is  wrong,  therefore  resist 
it;  that  is  right,  therefore  embrace  it,  love  it, 
cherish  it. 

/.  What  is  the  intellectual  worth  aside  from 
and  opposed  to  the  moral?  Is  not  the  devil  a 
very  intellectual  being?  But  does  his  intel- 
lectuality qualify  him  for  the  association  of  an- 
gels and  a home  in  heaven  ? Who  so  far-sighted, 
who  so  calculating,  who  so  full  of  cunning,  tact, 
and  pluck  as  he?  It  is  these  very  qualities  which 
constitute  him  the  leader  of  all  evil-doers,  and 
consign  him  to  the  pit  that  is  bottomless. 

But,  the  moral  which  inclines  a man  to  do  his 
duty  to  his  fellow-creatures,  secures  the  approba- 
tion of  Almighty  God,  and  introduces  him  to  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  all  on  earth,  whose 
esteem  and  confidence  are  worth  having. 

g.  And  there  is  the  other  element  of  well- 
being, greater  still,  than  the  moral,  because  it  is 
the  fountain  and  life-blood  of  the  moral — I mean 
the  spiritual.  It  is  that  which  leads  us  back  to 
God,  from  whom  we  have  all  wandered,  as  the 
prodigal  son  from  his  father’s  house.  It  is  that 
which  lifts  us  above  all  earthly  considerations, 
even  above  duty  itself,  to  infinite  love,  and  hides  us 
in  its  heavenly  bosom,  as  in  an  invulnerable  fortress. 


RACE  CONSIDERATIONS. 


79 


from  whence  we  issue  ever  and  anon  to  work  the 
works  of  righteousness,  without  money  and  with- 
out price — it  is  that  which  makes  any  one  like  unto 
the  Christ . 

Now,  it  is  the  combination  of  these  three  ele- 
ments which,  leading  us  to  duty  and  the  love  of 
duty,  gives  us  wisdom , which  is  the  ability  to 
make  right  and  good  use  of  the  known,  in  order 
that  the  knowledge  we  shall  have  obtained  may 
neither  damage  ourselves  nor  injure  others,  but 
shall  always  be  a source  of  blessings  to  all  and  to 
every  one — this,  we  say,  is  wisdom. 

h.  Now,  this  wisdom  understands  that  to  do 
evil  to  others  is  to  injure  ourselves,  but  to  do 
good  to  others  is  to  bless  ourselves.  Therefore, 
it  will  lead  us  to  shun  evil  plans,  to  repel  evil 
thoughts,  and  to  oppose  evil  measures.  Wisdom 
is  not  negative  only,  it  is  positive  also.  While 
it  rejects  the  evil,  it  also  plans,  embraces,  and 
executes  the  good  and  the  beneficent  at  all  times 
and  in  all  places;  therefore,  wisdom  and  under- 
standing are  inseparable ; they  go  hand  in  hand, 
and  are  God\s  noblest  gifts  to  the  individual  and 
to  the  race. 

The  knowledge  of  the  true  God  is  one  thing, 
the  knowledge  of  his  works  another  thing.  Both 
are  related  as  cause  and  effect ; and,  therefore,  they 
are  not  identical.  We  may  have  become  learned 


80 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


in  the  two  and  in  all  the  ramifications  of  each, 
but  if  we  do  not  conform  to  their  teachings  and 
their  biddings,  we  shall  ultimately  find  ourselves 
in  the  condition  of  those  whom  the  inspired 
prophets  denounce  as  “fools”  To  prevent  such 
a calamity,  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords 
has  given  us  his  law,  his  “ statutes,”  and  his 
“ testimonies/’  and  “ judgments.”  If  we  keep 
them,  and  delight  greatly  in  doing  them,  they 
will  impart  to  us  “ the  wise  and  understanding 
heart” — which  I regard  as  the  very  ground  and 
pillar,  yes,  the  very  essence  of  well-being . 

Moreover,  out  of  this  wise  and  understanding 
heart  will  spring  the  cultivated  intellect  and  the 
skilled  hands.  The  skillful  hands,  directed  by 
the  wise  head,  will  result  in  manifold  forms  of 
industry  and  thrift. 

Out  of  this  wise  and  understanding  heart  will 
spring  the  fear  of  God,  the  love  of  God,  and  the 
love  of  man.  All  these  elements  combined,  se- 
cured, and  developed  in  a race,  its  well-being  is 
secured^  and  will  be  developed.  Perpetuate  these 
elements  in  a race — its  strength,  power,  happiness, 
fecundity,  and  longevity  ar c forever  secured . 

i.  Blessed  within  itself,  no  earthly  being  can 
curse  it;  pure  within  itself,  no  external  influences 
can  corrupt  it;  strong  and  powerful  in  itself,  no 
created  force  can  crush  it. 


NATIONAL  CONSIDERATIONS. 


81 


Clikptef  IX. 

NATIONAL  CONSIDERATIONS  REQUIRE  SUCH 
TRAINING. 

ISING  higher  in  the  argument,  we  say  that 


XV  national  considerations  demand  that  we  ought 
to  “ train  a child  in  the  way  he  should  go.” 

a . That  the  families  are  the  fountains  of  a 
race  is  admitted  by  every  thinker;  that  races 
compose  every  historic  nation  is  also  admitted  by 
every  person  who  has  widely  read  general  history, 
and  who  has  profoundly  thought  upon  the  ele- 
ments that  compose  it.  That  all  historic  nations 
of  the  future  must  be  composed  of  different  races, 
no  philosophic  mind  will  deny  or  doubt.  These 
statements  being  true,  what  is  the  inference? 
That  what  the  races  are,  the  nation  must  be, 
nothing  more,  nothing  less.  Therefore,  if  the 
races  that  compose  it  be  ignorant,  vicious,  and 
criminal,  the  nation  must  be  ignorant,  vicious, 
and  criminal.  Over  such  a nation  destruction  is 
pendent. 

b.  But  if  the  races  which  compose  it  be  intel- 
ligent, virtuous,  and  Christian,  the  nation  will  be 


82 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION . 


also  intelligent,  virtuous,  and  Christian;  conse- 
quently the  law-makers  and  magistrates  issuing 
from  such  godly  families  and  Christian  races  will 
be  intelligent,  virtuous,  and  Christian.  Such 
officers,  having  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes 
and  the  love  of  God  animating  their  hearts,  will 
be  possessed  of  the  most  essential  qualifications 
of  the  legislator  and  the  magistrate.  With  love 
for  man  as  man,  considered  as  the  subject  (a)  of 
moral  government,  and  (b)  as  a subject  of  politi- 
cal government,  they  will  be  just,  ruling  in  the  fear 
of  God ; and,  therefore,  will  not  antagonize  the 
moral  by  the  political,  but  both  by  enactment  and 
administration  will  harmonize  the  moral  and  the 
political  by  the  inviolable  principles  of  divine 
justice  and  divine  equity.  To  such  legislators 
and  magistrates  nothing  can  be  law  which  violates 
the  unchangeable  law  of  God,  nothing  just  which 
antagonizes  the  eternal  right.1 

Therefore,  such  legislators  will  never  be  guilty 
of  class  legislation,  still  less  of  race  legislation. 
Magistrates  and  judges  issuing  from  such  families 

lrThat  impartial  justice  and  the  eternal  right  will  in  the 
near  or  distant  future  control  all  human  governments  is 
distinctly,  emphatically,  and  repeatedly  affirmed  in  Divine 
Eevelation.  This  truth  is  set  forth  in  the  second  Psalm, 
the  seventy-second  Psalm,  the  second  and  the  eleventh 
chapters  of  Isaiah.  See  Barnes  and  Lange,  in  loco , with 
which  compare  Daniel  vii,  2-27. 


NATIONAL  CONSIDERATIONS . 


83 


and  such  races  will  never  pervert  the  law  for 
bribes,  nor  so  construe  and  interpret  the  statutes 
as  to  give  an  increase  of  power  to  the  oppressors 
of  the  poor,  the  weak,  and  the  stranger;1  but, 
knowing  that  God — who  is  Lord  of  lords  and 
King  of  kings — can  as  easily  cast  down  those  who 
are  in  power  as  he  can  exalt  them,  they  will 
“ enact  the  laws  in  righteousness  and  execute 
them  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.” 

To  see  and  to  feel  the  force  of  these  reason- 
ings it  is  necessary  to  think  of  the  evils  which  a 
bad  man  may  inflict  upon  a nation.  For  ex- 
ample, a gifted  man,  full  of  cunning,  deceit,  and 
selfishness,  endowed  with  magnetic  eloquence,  can 
so  corrupt  the  legislation  of  a nation  as  to  bring 
upon  it,  in  due  time,  the  vengeance  of  Almighty 
God,  which  always  manifests  itself  by  the  sword, 
the  pestilence,  or  the  famine.  (Psalm  cvii;  Isaiah 
ii,  5-21.)  “He  that  ruleth  over  men  must  be 
just,  ruling  in  the  fear  of  God.”  (2  Samuel 
xxiii,  3.) 

If  the  just  man  will  bring  blessings  upon  him- 
self, the  just  ruler  will  bring  down  from  heaven 
blessings  upon  the  nation  over  which  he  rules. 

1 Class'  legislation,  race  legislation,  and  bribery  in  the 
courts  of  justice,  may  be  regarded  as  crimes  against  hu- 
manity, which  God  will  punish  in  due  time,  and  in  a 
manner  which  his  unerring  wisdom  may  dictate. 


84 


D OMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


“And  lie  shall  be  as  the  light  of  the  morning, 
when  the  sun  riseth,  even  as  a morning  without 
clouds;  as  the  tender  grass  springing  out  of  the 
earth  by  clear  shining  after  rain.”  (2  Samuel 
xxiii,  4.) 

Perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  of  temporal  bless- 
ings which  God  confers  upon  a community  or  a 
commonwealth  is  the  gift  of  just  and  wise  rulers. 
Such  is  his  own  teaching  as  he  has  revealed  him- 
self to  us  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  showing  that 
nations  rise  to  power  and  grandeur  through  his 
permission  or  his  causation,  and  that  they  also 
fall  into  disgrace  or  annihilation  “when  his  anger 
is  kindled  but  a little.”  (Psalm  ii,  10,  11,  12; 
Deut.  xxviii,  15-68;  Isaiah  xix,  1-17.) 

“ Blessed  is  the  nation  whose  God  is  the  Lord, 
and  the  people  whom  he  hath  chosen  for  his  own 
inheritance.” 

The  history  of  the  empires,  both  ancient  and 
modern,  are  but  histories  of  heroes,  called  kings, 
emperors,  or  Caesars ; whose  will  was  absolute  law, 
and  whose  administration  was  violence,  inflicting 
upon  the  nations  which  they  governed  the  most 
terrible  forms  of  misery  and  destruction. 

The  inspired  prophet  represented  the  four 
ancient  empires  as  wild  beasts  coming  up  from 
the  sea,  diverse  one  from  another.  The  first  was 
“ like  a lion,  and  had  eagle’s  wings.”  The  second 


NATIONAL  CONSIDERATIONS. 


85 


beast  was  “like  to  a bear  having  three  ribs  in 
its  mouth.”  The  third  was  “ like  a leopard  ” 
with  “ four  wings  of  a fowl,”  and  four-headed. 
The  fourth  was  a beast  with  “ ten  horns,”  “ dreadful 
and  terrible.”  It  had  great  iron  teeth,  “ with 
which  it  devoured,  and  brake  in  pieces,  and 
stamped  the  residue.” 

They  were  represented  as  beasts  jo n account 
of  their  wild  and  brutal  character.  The  suffer- 
ings, wrongs,  outrages,  and  varied  forms  of  mur- 
ders and  assassinations  which  these  brutal  mon- 
archs  inflicted  upon  their  own  races  and  the  other 
races  which  they  conquered,  can  be  known  only 
by  Him  who  is  omnipresent  and  omniscient. 
And  in  our  own  times,  in  his  efforts  to  make  the 
French  Empire  universal,  what  wrongs,  cruelties, 
outrages,  oppressions,  and  murders  were  inflicted 
upon  France  and  the  surrounding  nations  by 
Napoleon  I ! 

In  all  these  instances  the  pains  and  miseries 
of  whole  races  and  nations  were  caused  by  the 
selfishness  and  vaulting  ambition  of  blood-thirsty 
heroes.  But  wicked  individuals  in  private  life 
have  also  inflicted  great  evils  upon  the  commu- 
nities in  which  they  operated.  Take  for  example 
the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  by  the 
miscreant  Booth.  Into  what  a terrible  dilemma 
the  Republic  was  thrown,  and  what  confusion 


86 


D OMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


followed  the  ill-advised  administration  of  Presi- 
dent Andrew  Johnson.  The  villainy  of  Guiteau 
is  another  instance  of  the  evils  one  single  villain 
can  inflict  upon  a whole  nation.  The  shot  by 
which  he  laid  President  Garfield  in  the  grave 
was  felt  by  the  national  heart  and  drew  tears 
of  sorrow  from  millions  of  eyes.  Indeed,  both 
hemispheres  were  affected  by  the  malice  which 
rankled  in  the  bosoms  of  these  two  devilish 
assassins. 

What  has  been  done  by  these  wicked  individ- 
uals to  injure  society  can  be  done  again.  Now, 
it  is  to  prevent  the  repetition  of  such  crimes  we 
urge  that  every  individual  child  ought  to  be 
trained  in  the  way  he  should  go. 

But  if  a bad  person  can  inflict  great  mischief 
upon  a whole  community,  a whole  nation,  and 
upon  two  hemispheres,  a good  man  can  also  bring 
down  innumerable  blessings  upon  his  own  country 
and  upon  other  nations  also. 

a.  Thus  the  piety,  rectitude,  and  wisdom  of 
Joseph  saved  Egypt  from  starvation,  and  furnished 
surrounding  peoples  and  communities  with  food. 

b.  The  incorruptible  integrity  and  godliness 
of  Daniel  conferred  blessings  upon  three  empires; 
and  he  is  given  to  all  the  races  and  all  the  ages  as 
a model  for  true  and  upright  statesmanship ; and 
to  every  man  holding  an  office  of  honor  and  trust, 


NATIONAL  CONSIDERATIONS. 


87 


because  it  demonstrates  the  divine  truth,  that  to 
get  into  office,  and  to  hold  it  when  in,  it  is  not 
necessary  that  he  should  be  a cunning  politician, 
filled  with  selfishness  and  deceit.  Lastly,  it  shows 
in  a strong  light  that  politics,  in  its  high  and 
honorable  sense,  is  not  separable  from  a high 
morality  and  a sublime  faith  in  God,  which  is 
one  of  the  highest  manifestations  of  religion,  be- 
cause it  enables  an  officer  to  do  right  though 
death  stares  him  in  the  face;  and,  more  still,  to 
do  right  though  all  the  powers  in  the  state  be  op- 
posed to  him ; for  to  die  when  it  is  popular,  for  a 
popular  cause,  with  state  power  behind  us,  is  small 
heroism  compared  with  the  heroism  of  a man  who 
does  right  when  popular  opinion  and  state  power 
are  combined  and  opposed  to  him.  Such  was 
the  heroism  of  the  illustrious  prophet  and  pre- 
mier. Let  us  not  forget  the  relations  of  Joseph 
and  Daniel  to  society  at  the  time  when  their  faith 
in  God  was  tried  and  their  grand  traits  of  char- 
acter were  developed.  The  one  was  a slave  in  a 
foreign  land,  the  other  a captive  without  fortune 
and  without  powerful  friends.  Now,  what  does 
history  teach  us  by  these  two  interesting  facts? 
That  the  humblest  citizen  or  subject,  whose  par- 
ents or  guardians  have  trained  him  as  a child 
ought  to  be  trained,  may,  in  some  great  emer- 
gency, become  the  greatest  benefactor  of  his 


88 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


country  by  doing  for  it  that  which  neither  riches 
nor  learning  could  effect. 

These  examples  are  given  from  inspired  his- 
tory, because  the  masses  of  the  people  are  familiar 
with  them ; but  many  illustrious  examples  of  the 
principle  we  advocate  can  be  found  both  in 
secular  and  religious  life.  For  example,  the  con- 
summate statesmanship  and  military  prowess  of 
William  III  conferred  blessings  upon  Great  Brit- 
ain in  the  seventeenth  century  which  are  felt  and 
acknowledged  in  the  nineteenth.  So,  also,  that 
the  financial  magnanimity  and  probity  of  Necker 
conferred  blessings  of  no  mean  character  upon  the 
tottering  French  throne  and  the  distracted  French 
people  will  be  acknowledged  by  every  person 
familiar  with  French  history.  Nor  will  coming 
generations  forget  that  the  military  ability  and 
integrity  of  Washington  made  him  the  father  of 
his  country,  so  that  he  is  proverbially  called, 
“The  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen.” 

The  good  qualities  of  the  families  are  im- 
parted to  the  races,  and  the  good  qualities  of 
the  races  to  the  nation.  To  illustrate,  let  us 
suppose  that  all  the  German  families  in  the  re- 
public were  intelligent  and  Christian;  that  all 
the  Irish  families  were  intelligent  and  Christian; 
that  all  the  Italian  and  Spanish  families  were  in- 


NATIONAL  CONSIDERATIONS. 


89 


telligent  and  Christian ; that  all  the  Swedish  and 
Scandinavian  families  were  intelligent  and  Chris- 
tian ; that  all  the  English  and  colored  families 
were  intelligent  and  Christian ; what  elements  of 
strength,  power,  and  wealth  they  would  be  to  the 
entire  nation  ! 

Each  family  of  every  race,  and  every  race 
composing  the  nation,  having  in  itself  the  ele- 
ments of  wealth,  fecundity,  and  longevity,  the 
republic  would,  at  the  end  of  every  century,  leap 
upon  a higher  plane  of  national  power,  grandeur, 
and  glory ! 

Unlike  the  republics  of  Greece  and  Rome  its 
life  would  be  measured,  not  by  few  centuries,  but 
by  thousands  of  centuries;  its  duration  might  be 
perpetuated  till  the  archangels  trumpet  shall 
summon  all  nations  before  the  bar  of  the  eternal. 


90 


D OMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


&\kptef  X. 

ECCLESIASTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS  REQUIRE 
SUCH  TRAINING. 

ISING  still  higher  in  the  argument  I would 


IV  say,  and  do  declare,  that  fealty  to  the  Church 
of  the  living  God,  and  an  earnest  desire  for  its 
universal  expansion  over  the  globe,  and  its  ulti- 
mate triumph  over  all  forms  of  superstition  and 
false  religions,  ought  to  constrain  every  Christian 
citizen  to  unite  as  one  man  in  the  general  train- 
ing of  every  child.  Meanwhile,  parents  and  guar- 
dians ought  to  unite  in  the  domestic  training  of 
every  child. 

As  the  families  are  the  fountains  of  the  race 
and  of  the  nation,  so,  also,  are  they  the  very 
fountains  of  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer.  I 
here  employ  the  word  Church  in  its  New  Tes- 
tament sense.  (1  Timothy  iii,  15;  Titus  ii,  11- 
17 ; Revelation  xxi,  1-5.)  Not  in  its  denomina- 
tional or  Roman  Catholic  sense,  because  in  either 
of  those  senses  it  is  too  restricted.  I use  it  in 
its  Pauline  meaning,  which  is  universal.  It  em- 
braces men  of  every  condition  and  every  color, 
without  distinction  of  race. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS.  91 


What  the  families  are  the  Church  will  be — 
nothing  more,  nothing  less.  The  intelligent, 
godly  family  will  go  out  of  the  praying,  domestic 
church  into  the  public  house  of  God,  from  the 
family  altar  to  that  of  the  public  congregation, 
animated  by  the  very  spirit  of  the  family  circle — 
that  circle  which  was  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
worship. 

The  great  king  of  Israel  was,  doubtless,  in  his 
palace  when  he  wrote  the  following  lines : “ One 
thing  have  I desired  of  the  Lord,  that  will  I 
seek  after,  that  I might  dwell  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my  life,  to  behold  the 
beauty  of  the  Lord  and  to  inquire  in  his  tem- 
ple.” This  earnest  longing  for  the  house  of 
God,  in  order  that  he  might  behold  the  beauty  of 
the  Lord,  prepared  him  for  a successful  inquiry 
after  God’s  will  when  he  entered  the  assembly 
of  the  saints1,  prepared  him  to  comprehend  the 
divine  law,  and  to  obey  that  law  because  he 
loved  it. 

And  because  it  prepared  him  to  dwell  in  God’s 
house  all  the  days  of  his  life,  it  also  prepared 
him  to  do  its  work  within  and  without.  It  pre- 
pared him  to  defend  it  from  foes  without  and  foes 
within,  and  to  say, 

“ I love  thy  Church,  0 God ! 

Her  walls  before  thee  stand, 


92 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


Dear  as  the  apple  of  thine  eye, 

And  graven  on  thy  hand. 

“For  her  my  tears  shall  fall ; 

For  her  my  prayers  ascend ; 

To  her  my  cares  and  toils  he  given, 

Till  toils  and  cares  shall  end.” 

a . It  will  furnish  teachers  for  the  Sunday- 
school.  The  Sunday-school  is  the  nursery  of  the 
Church . As  such  it  needs  workmen  skilled  in 
the  science  of  mental,  moral,  and  religious  culti- 
vation. These  gardeners  ought  to  be  prepared 
before  they  enter  that  holy  garden  to  do  their 
work  quickly,  and  to  do  it  perfectly.  Now,  who 
is  so  well  prepared  to  go  and  teach  in  the  Sunday- 
school  as  the  one  who,  from  a little  child,  has 
been  well  instructed  at  home  ? Who  is  so  well 
adapted  to  sow  the  seeds  of  truth  in  the  soil  of 
the  Sunday-school  as  the  one  in  whose  mind  the 
seeds  of  truth  have  been  germinating,  vegetating, 
flowering,  and  producing  fruit  from  infancy  to 
childhood;  through  childhood  and  youth  up  to 
ripened  manhood  and  ripened  womanhood? 

b.  As  the  domestic  Church  will  furnish  the 
best  teachers  for  the  Sunday-school,  so,  also,  it 
can  and  will  furnish  the  best  trustees,  the  best 
stewards,  the  best  vestrymen,  and  all  other  sub- 
ordinate officers  of  the  various  Christian  denom- 
inations whose  duties  call  them  to  the  management 
of  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  Church.  Their 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS . 93 


good  training  in  the  homestead  will  make  them 
more  efficient  for  management  in  the  house  of 

God. 

c.  But  above  all,  and  over  all,  these  ecclesias- 
tical officers  for  temporal  management  and  gov- 
ernment are  her  ministry  of  every  title  and  of 
every  grade  and  rank.  From  the  hallowed  cir- 
cles of  the  domestic  Church  a holy  ministry  can 
be  given  to  fill  the  pulpit,  as  a pastors,  evangel- 
ists, and  teachers,”  “ for  the  perfecting  of  the 
saints,”  “ for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ,” 
for  planting  and  training  Churches  in  Christen- 
dom, for  planting  and  training  Churches  and 
Christian  schools  in  heathen  lands.  No  other 
homes  can  send  forth  such  officers — such  work- 
men in  the  Lord’s  vineyard. 

The  prophet  Jeremiah  says,  “ It  is  good 
for  a man  that  he  bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth.” 
There  is  great  depth  of  meaning  in  this  statement. 

a.  If  by  it  he  meant  the  yoke  of  ecclesiastical 
government,  then  who  is  so  well  prepared  to  wear 
that  yoke  of  the  Church  as  he  who  was  well  gov- 
erned in  infancy,  childhood,  and  youth  ? He  has 
seen  government  from  his  birth;  he  had  all  of 
childhood,  youth,  and  early  manhood  to  study 
and  comprehend  it.  Like  pure  gold  out  of  the 
furnace,  he  has  come  out  of  domestic  proba- 
tion, and  now  that  he  is  a man  in  office  and  au- 


94 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION . 


thority,  he  is  the  better  prepared  to  enforce  order, 
law,  and  government  over  the  flock  of  the  great 
Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  souls. 

b.  If  by  “ the  yoke  ” Jeremiah  meant  the 
bearing  of  burdens  or  the  execution  of  work, 
high  and  low,  fine  and  coarse,  the  very  drudgery 
of  church-life,  or  its  more  dignified  labors,  then 
the  man  who  has  been  compelled  by  his  parents 
or  guardians  to  pass  through  this  kind  of  ordeal 
is  the  better  fitted  to  guide  others  through  eccle- 
siastical ordeals  than  one  who  was  never  purified 
in  the  furnace  of  the  household  Church. 

c.  But,  suppose  Jeremiah  meant  the  personal, 
spiritual  yoke  of  Christ — the  consecration  of  the 
entire  body,  soul,  and  spirit  to  those  laws  of  the 
Infinite  which,  like  himself,  are  omnipresent, 
searching  the  thoughts,  regulating  the  affections, 
subjugating  the  will  so  as  to  make  the  individual 
walk  as  uprightly  in  the  darkness  of  midnight 
as  in  the  blaze  of  noonday ; then  he  is  the  very 
person  to  lead  on  the  sacramental  hosts  of  the 
Lord  from  truth  to  truth,  from  grace  to  grace, 
and  from  victory  to  victory. 

“From  a child  thou  hast  known  the  holy 
Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise 
unto  salvation,  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus.”  Thus  spake  the  inspired  apostle  to  his 
young  co-laborer,  Timothy.  Again,  hear  him 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS . 95 


speaking  to  this  young  bishop,  “ When  I call  to 
remembrance  the  unfeigned  faith  that  is  in  thee, 
which  dwelt  first  in  thy  grandmother  Lois  and 
in  thy  mother  Eunice,  and  I am  persuaded  that 
in  thee  also.”  (2  Tim.  i,  5.) 

d.  It  was  this  early  training  of  Timothy  in  a 
consecrated  household,  and  in  the  knowledge  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  this  faith  in  his  grandmother 
Lois,  and  in  his  mother  Eunice,  instilled  in  him, 
perhaps,  by  both,  that  made  Timothy  the  most 
faithful , the  most  careful  in  little  things,  and  the 
most  painstaking  in  great  ones ; that  constituted 
him  the  transcendent  helper  of  the  laborious 
apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  It  was  this  that  enabled 
the  impartial  Paul  to  say  to  the  excellent  Church 
at  Philippi  concerning  Timothy,  “I  have  no 
man  likeminded  who  will  naturally  care  for  your 
state.” 

It  was  this  which  induced  St.  Paul  to  set  so 
high  a value  upon  Timothy,  as  to  contrast  him 
with  the  selfish  others , who  were  always  seeking 
their  own  and  not  the  things  of  Jesus  Christ.” 
(Philippians  ii,  14-21.) 

My  own  opinion  on  this  point  (and  it  is  de^ 
liberately  formed)  may  be  expressed  in  the  state- 
ment that  if  the  entire  history  of  the  Christian 
ministry  could  be  written  out  and  their  biography 
and  genealogy  compared,  it  would  be  found  that 


96 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION . 


the  most  faithful  and  efficient  pastors  were  those 
who  had  been  most  carefully  trained  in  the  home- 
stead by  Christian  parents. 

But,  if  the  careful  training  of  a child  confers 
unspeakable  blessings  upon  the  Church,  the  con- 
verse is  equally  true.  The  conduct  of  Hophni 
and  Phineas  brought  destruction  upon  themselves, 
their  aged  father,  and  their  father’s  house,  where- 
fore it  is  written,  “ The  sin  of  the  young  men  was 
very  great  before  the  Lord,  for  men  abhorred  the 
offering  of  the  Lord.”  And  so  the  history  of 
the  Christian  Church  shows  how  and  what  great 
calamities  can  be  inflicted  upon  it  by  an  ungodly 
pastor,  an  unprincipled  bishop,  or  a profligate 
and  despotic  pope. 

e.  As  no  amount  of  silver,  gold,  and  precious 
stones  can  represent  the  value  of  the  services 
rendered  by  a faithful  and  efficient  pastor,  so  we 
can  not  set  too  high  a value  upon  the  careful 
training  of  a boy  or  a girl  in  the  homestead.  Of 
course,  I mean  the  careful  Christian  training , and 
none  other.  Another  may  make  conceited  dan- 
dies and  haughty  aristocrats,  but  Christian  train- 
ing, and  that  only  can  prepare  the  child  to  be 
like  John  the  Baptist,  “ a burning  and  a shining 
light.”  Did  the  sons  of  Levi  bring  down  judg- 
ment and  misery  upon  the  Jewish  Church  and 
the  Jewish  state ; so,  also,  did  the  son  of  Han- 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS.  97 

nah  and  Elkanah  confer  great  blessings  upon  the 
same  Church  and  the  same  state.  Therefore,  as 
the  names  of  Hophni  and  Phineas  may  be  re- 
garded as  synonyms  for  evil , so,  also,  may  the 
name  of  Samuel  be  regarded  as  a synonymn  for 
good. 

Indeed,  so  much  like  the  human  organization 
is  the  Christian  Church,  that  no  one  member  of 
it  can  be  morally  diseased  without  affecting  every 
other.  (Luke  i,  13.) 

To  bless  the  Church  of  the  Living  God  with 
a noble  ministry  well  prepared  to  manage  its  af- 
fairs, and  to  administer  its  government  also  with 
an  intelligent  laity,  orderly,  law-abiding,  easily 
governed,  let  every  parent  and  every  guardian  of 
a child  bring  that  child  up  “in  the  nurture  and 
admonition  of  the  Lord.”  John  the  Baptist  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  even  from  his  moth- 
ers womb.  Was  not  the  son  given  in  answer  to 
the  father’s  prayer?  just  as  in  the  case  of  Samuel 
the  son  was  given  in  answer  to  the  mother’s 
prayer. 

“ These  cases  may  be  regarded  as  special  cases.” 
Suppose  they  were.  Suppose  that  Samuel  was 
made  to  be  the  incorruptible  judge  of  Israel,  and 
that  John  was  made  to  be  the  herald  of  the  Lord 
of  lords  and  King  of  kings,  are  we  to  infer,  there- 
fore, that  Christian  parents  are  not  to  consecrate 


98 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


their  children  before  they  be  born,  and  not  to 
train  their  children  in  the  paths  of  wisdom  and 
righteousness  and  usefulness,  because  they  are  not 
called  to  be  judges  of  a nation,  nor  heralds  of 
salvation?  Such  reasonings  are  false  and  de- 
structive. “The  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  sal- 
vation hath  appeared  to  all  men,  teaching  us  that 
denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts  we  should 
live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  pres- 
ent world/’  (Titus  ii,  11,  12.)  Such  is  the  law 
of  heaven  for  life  on  earth.  It  is  as  binding  on 
our  children  as  upon  ourselves. 


SCHOOL  CONSIDERATIONS. 


99 


Ctjhptef  XI. 


THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  CONSIDERATION. 

HE  well-being  of  the  school,  considered  as  an 


JL  organization  distinct  from  the  Church  and 
the  state,  yet  inseparably  related  to  both,  as  a 
natural  element,  furnish  an  additional  considera- 
tion for  obeying  the  divine  command,  “ Train  up 
a child  in  the  way  he  should  go.”  The  school 
represents  the  Church  and  the  state,  operating  in 
an  educational  form,  and  as  an  educational  agent — 
a complex  agent — in  whom  are  united  both  the 
intelligent  actor  and  the  nonintelligent  instru- 
ments by  which  he  operates  for  the  benefit  of  all 
departments  of  society,  and  to  affect  beneficially 
all  the  ramifications  of  every  department.  There- 
fore, while  the  common  school  excludes  from  its 
curriculum  all  religious  and  theological  studies, 
it  includes  such  sciences  and  literature  as  will 
make  intelligent  and  useful  citizens. 

So,  also,  the  Church,  more  liberal  than  the 
state,  most  wisely  includes  in  the  curriculum  of 
her  colleges  and  universities  all  the  sciences  and  all 
the  literatures  which  are  chaste;  placing  above 


100 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION . 


these  as  moderators  and  guardians  the  religious  and 
the  theological  in  order  that  the  highest  heights 
and  the  lowest  depths  of  society  may  be  benefi- 
cially affected  by  her  instructors  and  the  instru- 
ments which  they  employ  for  illustrating  and 
demonstrating  the  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness 
of  the  invisible  Creator  of  the  universe,  who 
seems  to  have  constructed  it  as  a vast,  grand, 
and  beautiful  school-house  for  the  training  of 
immortal  man. 

Here  I use  the  word  school  in  a generic  sense, 
including  institutions  of  every  grade  established 
for  the  training  of  children,  youth,  and  young 
persons  of  both  sexes;  the  kindergarten  of  yester- 
day’s organization,  the  Harvard  in  America,  the 
Oxford  in  England,  the  Sorbonne  of  France,  and 
the  University  of  Berlin — to  every  one,  and  to 
all  these.  The  child  well-trained  or  neglected  in 
the  home  can  be  made  a blessing  or  a curse ; a 
source  of  joy,  order,  and  comfort,  or  a cause 
of  strife,  disorder,  and  misery.  The  experience 
and  observations  of  every  aged  teacher  and  pro- 
fessor can  furnish  cases  illustrating  and  confirm- 
ing my  statements,  especially  such  teachers  and 
professors  as  have  had  the  charge  of  boarding 
schools,  where  the  conduct  of  young  persons  of 
both  sexes  is  under  inspection  by  day  and  by 
night. 


SCHOOL  CONSIDERATIONS. 


101 


For  examples,  drawn  from  my  own  experience 
and  observations,  I give  the  following: 

a.  A young  student  at  Wilberforce  was  angry 
with  a fellow-student,  and,  seizing  a razor,  at- 
tempted to  cut  his  throat,  but  was  prevented  by 
the  timely  interference  of  another,  who  was  the 
friend  of  both,  whose  commanding  piety  was  re- 
spected by  all  who  knew  him  among  the  students, 
the  faculty,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  surround- 
ing neighborhood. 

b.  Another  student,  whose  parents  had  suffered 
him  to  do  just  as  it  pleased  himself,  in  a fit  of 
passion,  attempted  the  life  of  one  of  the  professors 
of  Wilberforce,  but  was  hindered  in  his  murder- 
ous design  by  a fellow-student  of  opposite  spirit, 
produced  by  opposite  training. 

c.  Two  young  women,  who  were  spoiled  by 
their  parents,  yet  in  their  teens,  sent  to  Wilber- 
force University  to  be  subdued  and  rendered 
good,  were,  for  repeated  acts  of  insubordination, 
punished  by  the  lady  principal  and  matron  with 
solitary  confinement  for  two  or  three  days.  This 
kind  of  discipline  was  revenged  by  them  in  set- 
ting the  central  building  on  fire,  involving  us  in 
the  loss  of  the  entire  edifice,  and  compelling  us 
to  erect  another  at  a cost  of  about  $40,000. 

In  stating  these  facts  I am  reminded  of  a re- 
mark made  by  the  Hon.  Frederick  Douglass  in 


102 


D OMES  TIC  ED  VC  A TION. 


presence  of  many  friends  of  education  at  Wilber- 
force  University.  Said  he,  “ The  best  school  has 
sometimes  become  the  worst  school.”  When  asked 
to  explain  himself,  he  answered,  and  said,  “ When 
a school  has  acquired  a reputation  for  excellent 
government,  parents  having  spoiled  children  will 
send  them  there  to  be  reformed ; but,  before  ref- 
ormation can  be  secured,  they  so  demoralize  the 
institution  that  the  best  school  becomes  the  worst.” 

In  another  case  which  passed  under  my  own 
observation,  the  slanderous  tongue  of  a habitual 
slanderer,  in  the  person  of  a young  female  student, 
(for  a short  time)  broke  up  a flourishing  young 
institution  of  learning  by  defaming  one  of  its 
professors.  The  habit  of  slandering  others  was 
doubtless  formed  in  her  by  her  foolish  mother, 
who  allowed  her,  when  a child,  to  be  “a  tale- 
bearer.” 

Examples  of  this  kind  can  be  multiplied,  but 
I forbear  because  I think  I have  given  sufficient 
to  convince  every  one  that  a spoiled  child  can  be 
a source  of  great  mischief  to  an  institution  of 
learning.  On  the  other  hand,  we  are  able  to  give 
numerous  examples  proving  that  the  students  in 
a school  who  are  the  best  behaved  and  the  most 
easily  governed  are  such  as  go  from  a well-gov- 
erned household.  We  can  also  testify  to  the  fact 
that  the  best  scholars  in  an  institution  of  learning 


SCHOOL  CONSIDERATIONS . 


103 


are  generally  those  who  have  been  trained  from 
infancy  by  parents  as  remarkable  for  general  in- 
telligence and  sound  learning  as  they  are  for 
their  unquestionable  love  for  the  Christian  Church, 
as  that  Church  manifests  itself  in  the  bosom  of 
the  household. 

I here  take  the  liberty  to  set  it  down  as  a 
principle  in  the  philosophy  of  history  and  of 
human  progress,  that  the  finest  intellect,  the 
purest  heart,  the  noblest  will,  and  the  greatest  * 
benefactors  of  humanity,  were  and  will  be  born 
and  trained  in  the  earnest  Christian  households. 
(Psalm  cxii,  1-3.) 

As  the  good  soil  produces  good  grain,  so  does 
the  good  tree  produce  good  fruit.  That  illustri- 
ous company  of  men  who  are  ranked  among  the 
inspired  prophets  were  not  called  out  of  the  low- 
est ranks  of  society,  where  the  lowest  forms  of 
vice  obtained ; nor  from  the  highest  walks  of 
fashionable  life,  where  gigantic  wealth  and  princely 
splendor  produce  contempt  for  sacred  things,  for- 
getfulness of  God,  and  an  idolatrous  love  of  pleas- 
ures; but  from  the  intermediate  class,  where  one 
will  always  find  the  most  solid  piety,  joined  to 
good  common  sense,  and  enlightened  by  general 
knowledge  of  men  and  things.  Moses,  Samuel, 
and  Daniel,  in  the  grand  line  of  prophets,  judges, 
and  statesmen,  are  excellent  illustrations  of  our 


104 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


statement.  David,  Isaiah,  and  Ezekiel,  among 
the  prophetic  poets,  are  also  confirmations  of  its 
truthfulness.  Let  parents,  who  desire  their  sons 
to  be  eminent  among  men,  and  their  daughters  to 
be  celebrated  among  women,  remember  these  his- 
toric facts,  and  then  be  careful  and  prayerful  in 
the  domestic  training  of  their  children. 

The  reign  of  universal  righteousness,  which 
is  justice  in  its  highest  form,  can  never  be  realized 
till  from  our  institutions  of  learning  graduates 
shall  go  forth  whose  character  was  first  molded 
and  first  colored  by  the  hands  of  Christian  parents, 
then  polished  by  the  hands  of  Christian  teachers. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  SCHOOL. 


105 


Cl\hptef  XII. 

RELATIONS  OF  DOMESTIC  EDUCATION  TO  THE 
CHURCH,  THE  STATE,  AND  THE  COMMON- 
* SCHOOL,  INCLUDING  HIGHER  EDUCATION 
AND  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

THE  five  considerations  just  given  indicate 
the  intimate  relations  of  the  home  to  the 
race,  the  state,  the  Church,  and  the  school.  They 
show  us  what  important  factors  of  human  history 
are  the  parents — the  father,  the  mother,  the  guar- 
dian of  the  child — how  all  the  departments  of 
society  are  chained  to  them.  Their  interests  are 
one  with  them,  their  end  is  one. 

As  is  the  fountain,  so  are  the  streams.  As  the 
streams  flowing  from  the  fountain  and  emptying 
themselves  into  the  bosom  of  the  ocean,  return 
back  to  their  source ; even  so,  also,  has  the  Creator 
ordained  that  the  universe  shall  be  one  varied 
whole — grand,  beautiful  in  its  development,  sub- 
lime in  its  end,  varied  in  its  types,  varied  in 
the  parts  and  ramifications  of  each  type,  but 
an  inseparable  one  in  their  end — that  end  the 
purity  and  usefulness,  strength  and  beauty,  eter- 
nal life  and  blessedness  of  all ! 


106 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


If  you  desire  and  purpose  the  well-being  of 
a race  you  must  secure  it  in  the  homestead.  If 
you  desire  and  purpose  the  well-being  of  a nation 
you  must  secure  it  in  the  family  circle.  The 
mothers  of  homes  are  the  mothers  of  nations. 

If  you  pray  for  good  government  in  the 
state  you  must  perfect  the  government  of  the 
fireside.  If  you  pray  for  the  excellent  discipline, 
expansion,  and  final  victory  of  the  Christian 
Church  over  all  her  enemies,  make  the  training 
of  your  children  at  home  the  first,  chief  business 
of  every  day. 

If  you  desire  and  purpose  to  make  the  educa- 
tional institutions  of  the  land  the  great  factors 
of  intelligent  laborers,  of  successful  business  men, 
of  incorruptible  statesmen  and  magistrates,  of 
skillful  professional  men  and  artisans,  of  diligent 
agriculturists  and  merchants,  of  honest  financiers 
and  bankers,  you  must  secure  order  and  law, 
government  and  authority  in  the  homestead. 
And,  now,  we  earnestly  beg  that  you  will  com- 
bine these  considerations  into  one  great  motive 
power,  and  they  will  impel  you  onward  in  the 
divine  work  of  domestic  education,  under  Chris- 
tian principles,  Christian  sentiments,  and  Chris- 
tian teachings.  The  families  of  Christendom  will 
then  become  omnipotent  for  the  conquest  of 
heathendom,  will  be  prepared  to  accomplish  God’s 


THE  CHURCH  AND  SCHOOL, . 


107 


glorious  purpose  for  the  reconstruction  and  re- 
demption of  the  world. 

How  well  laid,  how  broad,  and  how  deep  ought 
to  be  the  foundations  that  bear  up  a great  busi- 
ness house,  where  tons  upon  tons  of  the  roughest 
raw  materials,  such  as  iron  ores  and  stone  and 
timber  are  to  be  sheltered,  and  where  tons  upon 
tons  of  the  most  precious  metals,  such  as  pig 
iron,  copper,  tin,  lead,  mercury,  silver,  and  gold 
are  to  be  deposited ; and  where  tons  upon  tons 
of  the  most  valuable  and  the  least  valuable  of 
dry  goods  are  to  be  protected  from  rain  and  dust ; 
and  where  tons  upon  tons  of  all  kinds  of  grain 
and  groceries  are  to  be  bundled  and  shelved  and 
sold;  and  where  hundreds  of  buyers  and  sellers 
are  continually  moving  to  and  fro!* 1 

lBy  a parity  of  reasoning  how  great  should  be  the 
strength  and  the  power  of  the  families  that  underlie  the 
state  and  the  Church,  with  all  their  ramifications  and 
deathless  interests!  How  strong  and  powerful  in  intel- 
lect, how  pure  in  morals,  how  godly  and  righteous  in  will ! 

I use  these  adjectives  in  preference  to  the  popular  term 
virtue , so  fluent  in  the  popular  mouth,  hut  so  indefinite  in 
the  popular  mind.  I use  them  because  godliness  and 
righteousness  express  a higher  idea  of  goodness  than  vir- 
tue, so  fluent  in  the  mouths  of  politicians  and  others,  who 
care  no  more  about  the  rights  of  the  poor  and  the  weak 
than  they  do  about  the  dirt  upon  w'hich  they  daily 
tread.  Godliness  and  righteousness  constitute  the  strength 
and  power  of  a man ; they  constitute  the  strength  and 
power  of  a family ; they  must  constitute  the  strength. 


108 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


Because,  if  the  foundations  which  support  such 
a depot  should  cave  in  or  break  down,  how  terri- 
ble would  be  the  damage  to  property,  and  how 
awful  the  loss  of  valuable  lives ! 

power,  and  glory  of  a Church  and  a state ; they  must  con- 
stitute the  strength,  power,  and  beauty  of  the  school. 
When  all  the  families,  or  a majority  of  them,  possess 
these  qualities  and  cherish  them,  then  the  Church,  the 
state,  and  the  school  shall  be  based  upon  immovable  and 
unshakable  foundations. 


NATURE  AND  SCOPE. 


109 


d\kj>tei5  XIII. 

THE  NATURE  AND  SCOPE  OF  THE  DIVINE  COM- 
MAND, “ TRAIN  UP  A CHILD  IN  THE  WAY 
HE  SHOULD  GO.” 

NOW,  are  we  prepared  to  consider  the  nature 
and  scope  of  this  divine  law  which  the  Cre- 
ator has  given  for  life  upon  earth? 

a . It  does  not  address  itself  to  any  particular 
person.  It  differs  from  that  addressed  to  parents 
in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  (Deut.  vi,  6,  7)  and 
the  epistle  to  the  Ephesian  Church  (Eph.  vi,  4), 
in  which  parents  are  commanded  to  train  their 
own  children  in  the  principles  of  a good  and 
useful  life,  and  forbidden  to  use  cruelty  in  the 
administration  of  paternal  discipline. 

b.  In  the  divine  law  we  have  been  considering 
and  analyzing,  no  father,  no  mother  is  named.  No 
rich  father  nor  rich  mother  is  addressed  because 
a splendid  estate  will  be  divided  among  their 
children  in  order  that  they  might  be  qualified  to 
care  for  the  portion  to  be  given  them,  and  to  in- 
crease it  ad  infinitum . 


110 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


c.  Neither  is  it  addressed  to  some  poor  fathers 
nor  mothers  in  order  that  their  children  might 
be  able  to  escape  the  hard  lot  to  which  them- 
selves were  subjected,  and  by  their  superior  skill 
acquire  wealth  and  live  in  affluence. 

d.  Nor  does  it  address  itself  to  the  well-edu- 
cated in  order  that  their  children  might  become 
more  intelligent  and  learned  than  themselves,  and 
so  rise  to  more  eminent  and  influential  positions. 

6.  Nor  is  it  addressed  to  politicians  and  states- 
men in  order  that  their  own  offspring  might  be 
able  to  control  the  politics  and  finances  of  the 
government,  and  thus  become  living  monuments 
of  their  own  success  and  personal  greatness. 

/.  Nor  to  presidents,  kings,  and  emperors  to  the 
end  that  their  own  families  and  dynasties  might 
possess  dominant  power  from  generation  to  gener- 
ation. 

g.  But  it  is  addressed  to  every  man  and  to 
every  woman,  to  those  wrho  are  parents  and  to 
such  as  are  not,  to  the  rich  and  to  the  poor,  to 
the  weak  and  the  strong,  to  the  learned  and  to 
the  ignorant,  to  the  popular  and  to  the  obscure 
of  every  clime,  of  every  race,  and  every  age. 

1.  Because  every  man  and  every  woman  can 
be  affected  for  weal  or  woe  by  the  conduct  of  a 
single  bad  child,  whose  silly  parents  may  allow 
him,  by  day  or  by  night,  to  roam  through  the 


NATURE  AND  SCOPE . 


Ill 


streets  seeking  mischief  as  a wild  beast  seeks  its 
prey. 

2.  Because  every  child,  having  been  originally 
made  in  the  image  of  God,  has  a high  and  holy 
destiny  within  his  grasp,  which  may  be  lost  either 
through  the  stupid  ignorance  or  the  sinful  negli- 
gence of  the  foolish  parents  or  guardians. 

Therefore,  this  divine  command  is  not  limited 
to  the  conditions  of  riches,  nor  poverty,  nor  pop- 
ularity, nor  obscurity,  nor  weakness,  nor  strength, 
nor  learning,  nor  ignorance;  but,  as  the  light  of 
the  sun  and  the  breath  of  heaven,  it  sweeps  over 
all  territorial  boundaries,  all  class  regulations,  all 
race  distinctions;  and,  laying  its  God-like  hand 
upon  every  child,  it  says  to  every  man  and  to 
every  woman  what  the  princess  of  Egypt  said  to 
the  mother  of  Moses,  “ Take  this  child  away  and 
nurse  it  for  me,  and  I will  give  thee  thy  wages.” 

Verily,  verily,  every  person  who  so  educates 
a child  that  he  shall  go  forth  from  the  homestead 
into  the  public  or  the  private  school,  thence  to  a 
high  or  normal  school,  or  the  college,  or  the  univer- 
sity, or  theological  seminary,  and  issue  from  these 
halls  of  learning  with  an  intelligent  head,  a good 
heart,  and  an  obedient  will,  fully  consecrated  to 
God  and  his  work  for  humanity,  shall  be  rewarded 
in  this  world  and  that  which  is  to  come. 

From  all  we  have  said  it  is  manifest  that  the 


112 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION, 


command  “to  train  up  a child  in  the  way  he 
should  go”  is  very  indefinite.  But  this  indefi- 
niteness illustrates  its  universality,  and  its  uni- 
versality is  the  proof  of  its  divinity.  The  natural 
selfishness  of  man,  fostered  into  a passion,1  could 
never  have  conceived  such  a law,  especially  under 
the  low  and  narrow  sentiments  of  race  superi- 
ority. 

But  this  divine  mandate,  in  its  length  and 
breadth,  in  its  height  and  depth,  like  infinite 
space,  takes  in  all , and  makes  room  for  all  the 
forms  and  all  the  educational  movements  of  hu- 
manity. 


1 By  passion  we  mean  that  affection  which,  by  undue 
indulgence,  enslaves  the  individual,  causing  him  or  her  to 
act  more  like  a brute  or  a devil  than  like  a rational  being. 
Dr.  Xavier  Bourgeois,  in  a French  work  entitled  “ Les  Pas- 
sions do, ns  Leurs  Rapports  avec  la  Sante  et  les  Maladies 
says,  “ On  peut  done  definir  les  passions , des  besows  deregies , 
qui,  apres  nous  avoir  seduits,  finissent  par  nous  tyranniser 
“As  to  the  passions,  they  are  indeed  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  inclinations,  motions  of  the  will  towards  certain 
objects,  but  motions  of  a more  impetuous  and  turbulent 
kind,  motions  that  dispossess  the  soul  of  its  natural 
tranquillity  and  hinder  it  from  directing  properly  its 
operations.  Then  it  is  that  the  passions  become  dangerous 
distempers.  The  cause  of  the  passion  is  generally  the 
allurement  of  sensible  good,  which  solicits  the  soul  and 
impels  it  with  too  violent  an  impression.” — So  says  Pro- 
fessor J.  J.  Burlamaqui  in  his  “Natural  and  Political  Law,” 
page  10.  These  two  foreign  thinkers  are  identical  in  their 
definitions,  with  which  mine  harmonizes. 


THE  DIVINE  PROMISE . 


113 


Cljkptei?  XIV. 

THE  DIVINE  PROMISE. 

IT  now  becomes  our  duty  to  consider  the  divine 
promise  which  is  annexed  to  this  divine  com- 
mand. There  is  nothing  metaphorical  nor  equiv- 
ocal in  its  meaning.  It  declares  that  if  a child 
be  trained  in  the  way  it  should  go,  he  and  she 
will  never  depart  from  it.  The  owner  of  a colt, 
if  he  be  a farmer  or  breeder  of  horses,  will  find 
it  wise  to  begin  the  training  of  it  as  soon  as  it 
is  born,  because,  by  so  doing,  at  the  end  of  three 
years  he  will  not  be  under  the  painful  necessity 
of  “ breaking  it,”  as  we  are  accustomed  to  say, 
for  he  will  find  that  the  young  animal  will  take 
bit,  bridle,  and  harness  as  though  the  first  was 
born  in  his  mouth  and  the  other  two  on  his  neck 
and  back.  He  will  be  ready  for  drawing  wagon, 
or  carriage,  and  there  will  be  no  trouble  to  guide 
him  in  and  over  the  road  which  by  day  and  night 
he  must  follow  and  keep  in  till  he  dies. 

So,  also,  the  orchardist  and  the  florist  know 
that  if  a tree  or  plant  be  trained  to  grow  in  a 
certain  form  and  direction,  it  will  retain  that  form 
8 


114 


D OMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


and  direction  when  full  grown;  but,  setting  aside 
such  illustrations,  we  proceed  to  prove  from  and 
by  the  testimony  of  biography  that  wrhen  the  di- 
vine mandate  shall  have  been  obeyed,  the  divine 
promise  shall  be  realized. 

I.  Our  first  class  of  proofs  are  drawn  from 
sacred  or  Biblical  history. 

a.  Moses,  the  grandest  man  of  the  Hebrew 
period  was  trained  by  his  own  Hebrew  mother, 
from  his  birth  to  the  day  when  he  entered  the 
palace  of  Pharaoh  to  be  educated  in  the  schools 
of  the  Egyptian  priests.  The  training  which  his 
own  Hebrew  mother  gave  him  in  infancy  and 
childhood  was  that  in  which  he  was  designed  to 
walk  all  the  days  of  his  life.  He  was  trained  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  in  opposition  and 
antagonism  to  the  false  gods  and  idols  of  Egypt, 
he  was  taught  to  obey  him  who,  by  his  own  om- 
nipotence and  infinite  wisdom  created  the  heav- 
ens and  the  earth ; he  was  taught  to  love  him 
whose  inimitable  characteristics  constitute  him  the 
most  lovable  and  glorious  being  in  the  universe. 
Doubtless  such  were  the  seeds  of  goodness  and 
greatness  which  his  pious  mother  sowed  in  his 
heart  as  he  passed  through  the  stages  of  infancy, 
childhood,  and  youth.  They  were  so  well  planted 
and  vigorously  grown  that  no  adverse  influence 
which  Egyptian  royalty  and  glory,  and  power, 


THE  DIVINE  PROMISE. 


115 


and  science,  and  philosophy,  and  mythology  could 
efface  from  his  mind  or  turn  his  feet  aside  from 
the  paths  of  holiness  and  righteousness.  The 
wise  and  self-abnegating  leader  of  his  people,  he 
lived  the  humble,  faithful  servant  of  God,  he  died 
and  was  buried  as  man  never  was  before  nor 
since,  by  the  hand  of  an  archangel.  More  than 
three  thousand  years  have  passed  away  since  he 
went  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  yet  his  writings 
are  still  the  light  and  the  guide  of  science,  philos- 
ophy, and  religion — of  law  and  of  government. 

b.  Samuel,  the  prophet,  leader,  and  judge  of 
Israel  was  prayed  for  by  his  mother  before  he 
was  born,  and  was  given  in  response  to  her  ear- 
nest petitions.  To  God’s  divine  service  he  was 
conescrated  immediately  after  his  birth.  This 
was  a homestead  consecration.  It  would  have 
satisfied  an  ordinary  mother,  but  not  such  an  en- 
thusiastic spirit  as  Hannah’s  ; therefore,  as  soon 
as  the  child  was  weaned,  she  took  him  “ to  the 
house  of  the  Lord,”  and  gave  him  up  body,  soul, 
and  spirit,  a living  sacrifice  to  the  Creator — her 
covenant  God. 

It  is  supposed  that  he  was  then  about  three 
years  old.  Up  to  that  time  he  was  under  the 
special  training  of  his  mother.  (1  Sam.  i,  20-28.) 
But  the  good  discipline  of  that  mother  was  so 
thoroughly  formative  that  neither  the  wicked  sons 


116 


D OMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


of  Eli,  nor  any  other  influence  in  the  corrupt  He- 
brew Church,  or  in  the  wicked  Hebrew  state 
could  contaminate  him  or  turn  him  out  of  the 
path  of  holiness  and  righteousness.  He  lived 
from  childhood  to  ripened  manhood;  the  man 
pre-eminently  virtuous  and  devoutly  pious,  the 
model  of  his  race  and  of  his  day.  In  his  old  age 
he  stood  up  before  all  Israel,  the  wise  and  faith- 
ful leader,  the  impartial  governor  and  the  incor- 
ruptible judge. 

c.  Daniel,  the  illustrious  prophet  and  incompar- 
able premier,  is  another  bright  example  of  incor- 
ruptibility. His  domestic  training  was  so  thor- 
oughly given  by  his  parents  that  the  nice  and 
rich  dainties  of  the  imperial  table  could  not  in- 
duce him  to  violate  the  dietetic  rules  of  his  pa- 
ternal homestead.  As  the  premier  of  three  em- 
pires he  was  surrounded  by  the  amusements  and 
the  pleasures,  the  wealth  and  riches,  the  grandeur 
and  beauty  of  the  most  voluptuous  courts  of  that 
age.  Yet  he  remained  as  faithful  to  the  right, 
the  true,  and  the  good,  as  when  he  was  earnestly 
praying  that  God  would  deliver  him  out  of  the 
den  of  lions  and  from  the  destructive  devices  of 
his  murderous  enemies. 

These  are  examples  from  ancient  history  be- 
fore the  light  of  Christianity  had  poured  its  supe- 
rior influences  upon  the  family  circle. 


THE  DIVINE  PROMISE. 


117 


Samuel  lived  in  a time  when  both  Church  and 
state  were  corrupt.  During  his  entire  life  he 
moved  in  the  midst  of  bad  influences.  He  had  to 
do  more  than  to  guard  himself  from  them.  He 
often  had  to  rise  up  and  stand  up  in  open  antag- 
onism against  poor  men  and  rich  men,  against 
priests  and  people,  and  against  the  evil  doings  of 
an  unprincipled  and  malicious  monarch  who  re- 
garded neither  God  nor  man,  and  whose  envious 
jealousy  made  him  ready,  at  any  moment,  to 
assassinate  his  best  friend  and  his  noblest  son. 
Yet,  amidst  all  these  adverse  circumstances,  he 
turned  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  but 
held  on  the  way  in  which  he  was  appointed  to 
go  all  the  days  of  his  life. 

The  circumstances  surrounding  the  career  of 
Moses  and  Daniel  were  still  more  complex  and 
difficult.  Their  domestic  training  while  children 
differed  widely  from  the  customs  of  the  people 
among  whom  they  were  called  to  develop  their 
youth  and  early  manhood.  Both  were  foreign  to 
the  dominant  race  under  whose  dominion  their 
lots  were  cast.  The  one  was  descended  from  an 
enslaved  race,  who  were  in  subordination  to 
cruel  taskmasters  for  centuries ; the  other  was 
among  the  prisoners  taken  by  Nebuchadnezzar 
out  of  Palestine,  and  led  captive  into  Babylon. 
Both  became  elevated  into  courtly  circles,  and 


118 


D OMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


were  dependent  upon  royal  power  and  benevo- 
lence; to  cap  the  climax  both  were,  in  religious 
feelings  and  sentiments  and  principles,  as  much 
opposed  to  their  masters  as  midnight  to  noon- 
day ; hence  both  were  compelled  to  move  in  an 
idolatrous  atmosphere,  in  which  they  heard  teach- 
ings and  beheld  customs  antagonistic  to  all  the 
teachings  and  customs  of  the  godly  homesteads  in 
which  they  were  born,  and  in  which  their  infancy 
and  childhood  were  nurtured,  yet  none  of  these 
adverse  circumstances  and  influences  could  make 
them  recreant  to  that  God  whom  they  had  been 
taught  to  reverence,  love,  and  obey. 

Their  character,  private  life,  and  public  ca- 
reer are  sublime  illustrations,  and  confirmations 
of  that  divinely  blended  command  and  promise : 
“ Train  up  a child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and 
when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it.” 

II.  Our  second  class  of  confirmatory  and  illus- 
trative proofs  is  derived  from  modern  biography. 

a . John  Wesley,  son  of  Susannah  Wesley,  was 
trained  for  his  grand  and  apostolic  career  in  the 
domestic  circle.  Shutting  up  herself  and  her 
little  John  in  her  nursery,  at  the  age  of  five,  she 
gave  him  his  first  lessons  in  books,  and  taught 
him,  first  of  all  books,  to  read  the  only  Book 
which  gives  us  “laws  from  heaven  for  life  on 
earth.”  His  moral  nature  had,  up  to  that  day,  been 


THE  DIVINE  PROMISE . 


119 


under  the  plastic  hand  of  that  wise  and  skillful 
mother.  On  that  day  she  made  him  able  to  read 
the  alphabet  and  the  first  chapter  in  Genesis. 

From  that  day  the  highest  conceptions  of 
order,  law,  and  government  he  drew  from  that 
highest  source  of  divine  truth.  The  lessons  she 
imparted  to  him  on  that  day  constituted  the  mold 
into  which  his  soul  was  cast  and  his  charac- 
ter formed.  The  subsequent  ground  coloring 
of  his  life-picture,  with  its  delicate  hues  and 
tints,  were  all  drawn  from  the  same  inspired 
fountain.  So  that,  to  cherish  order,  to  obey  law, 
to  reverence  government,  to  honor  authority, 
were  formative  and  guiding  principles,  wrought 
into  his  very  being  by  the  plastic  fingers  of  his 
magisterial  and  loving  mother.  Hence,  he  was 
what  he  was,  the  great  thinker,1  the  great  organ- 
izer, the  successful  ecclesiastical  governor. 

xIt  has  been  said  that  “ Wesley  was  not  a great 
thinker,”  because  he  did  not  start  some  new  metaphysical 
or  theological  theory ; as  though  one  can  not  be  a great 
thinker  only  by  speculating  in  abstractions  and  other 
things  beyond  the  grasp  of  the  human  intellect.  I believe 
such  opinions  to  be  erroneous.  To  be  thinking  wisely 
about  the  concrete,  which  can  be  handled  and  managed 
for  human  well-being ; to  be  planning  and  executing  the 
practical,  as  others  did  not ; to  be  organizing  new  meas- 
ures for  the  diffusion  of  light  and  truth  among  the  igno- 
rant masses,  so  as  to  change  their  modes  of  thinking, 
change  their  character,  change  their  lives,  is,  in  my  judg- 


120 


D OMESTIC  ED  VC  A TION. 


When  his  mother  was  governing  him  she  was 
unwittingly  training  him  to  govern  men  through 
countless  generations  and  to  fasten  the  yoke  of 
Church  government  upon  all  the  races.  To  the 
end  of  a long  life  of  eighty-eight  years  he  kept  in 
the  way  in  which  his  mother  set  his  feet  as  when 
he  was  an  infant  of  only  five  years.  Her  early 
teachings  and  faithful  training  has  made  him  the 
benefactor  of  humanity. 

b.  Charles  Wesley  was  trained  in  the  same 
manner  by  the  wise  and  godly  Susannah.  Though 
God  did  not  make  him  to  be  the  organizer  and 
governor  of  secular  nor  religious  bodies,  he  gave 
Charles  a more  than  ordinary  gift,  in  the  power 
of  molding  and  coloring  thought  and  sentiment 
in  the  form  of  sacred  song.  He  is  the  sweet 
singer  of  Methodism.  He  may  be  regarded  as 
the  armor-bearer  of  his  brother  John,  to  put 
into  his  hands  sharpened  spiritual  weapons,  glit- 
tering and  two-edged ; or  we  may  speak  of  him 
as  the  chorister  of  the  sacramental  host,  which 
his  brother  was  leading  onward  and  upward ; yet, 
not  the  mere  chorister,  but  more,  one  who  had  in 


ment,  the  noblest  kind  of  thinking,  because  the  most  nat- 
ural, the  most  beneficial,  and  therefore  the  most  Christian. 
If  a man  is  considered  great  because  he  thinks  as  Plato 
thought,  then  he  must  be  greater  who  thinks  as  Christ 
Jesus  thought. 


THE  DIVINE  PROMISE . 


121 


himself  the  dual  gift  of  poetry  and  music,  which 
thrilled  the  hearts  of  the  armed  bands,  cheering 
them  in  their  tedious  marches,  and  stimulating 
them  for  every  conflict  with  their  stubborn,  ma- 
lignant, and  wily  foes. 

What  the  fife  and  the  drum  are  to  a recruit* 
ing  officer,  what  a band  of  musicians  is  to  a 
regiment,  what  a trumpeter  is  to  an  army  in  the 
field  of  battle,  such,  and  more,  was  Charles  Wes- 
ley to  his  commanding  brother  John.  And  as 
John  is  still  marching  from  continent  to  conti- 
nent, and  through  every  clime,  organizing  the 
races  into  martial  bands  to  fight  the  battles  of 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  Charles  is  still  marching  at 
his  side,  singing  in  all  languages,  cheering  and 
inspiring  the  conquering  legions  of  Emmanuel. 

Was  ever  a home  more  hallowed  than  that  in 
which  these  babes  were  born,  these  boys1  were 
trained?  from  which  they  went  into  the  schools 
of  London ; thence,  as  youths,  to  the  University 
of  Oxford;  thence,  as  young  men,  into  the  world 
to  labor  successfully  for  God  and  man  ? 

Their  feet  were  set  in  the  right  path  by  the 


luJohn  left  the  home  for  the  Charter-house  school 
when  eleven  years  old,  and  entered  Oxford  in  his  seven* 
teenth  year.  Charles  went  to  Westminster  when  about* 
eight  years  of  age,  and,  in  due  time,  joined  his  brother.” 
(Stevens’s  “ Centenary  of  Methodism.”) 


122 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


consummate  prudence  and  skill  of  their  pious 
mother,  from  which  they  never  wandered,  but 
kept  in  it  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.  “The 
path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light,  which 
shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.” 
The  lives  of  these  two  noble  sons  of  the  noblest 
mother  of  modern  history  beautifully  illustrate 
the  proverb  of  Solomon.  But  who  molded  their 
grand  characters?  Not  the  schoolmasters  of  the 
Charter-house  and  Westminster  schools  in  Lon- 
don, not  the  learned  professors  at  Oxford.  No! 
they  did  not.  The  work  was  done  by  their  illus- 
trious mother,  whose  prayers  and  tears,  whose 
watchings  and  teachings,  whose  rigid,  but  loving 
discipline,  were  the  crucible  through  which  she 
passed  them,  and  brought  them  out  as  pure  gold, 
even  as  gold  which  can  not  be  tarnished. 

Jonathan  Edwards  is  another  example  of  suc- 
cessful child-training — another  example  of  the 
fulfillment  of  .the  divine  promise,  and  also  of  in- 
herited greatness,  because  his  father,  his  grand- 
father, his  great  grandfather,  and  his  great,  great 
grandfather,  were  all  distinguished  for  their  piety 
and  learning. 

Both  his  mother  and  father  were  pious  and 
learned,  “ and  paid  particular  attention  to  the 
early  culture  of  his  mind  as  well  as  to  bring  him 
up  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.”  “ The  examples  set 


THE  DIVINE  PROMISE . 


123 


before  young  Edwards,  gave  him  a taste  for  men- 
tal and  moral  beauties  and  inspired  him  with  ad- 
miration of  the  gracefulness  of  consistent  piety ; 
religious  instruction  early  taught  him  the  only 
way  of  salvation  ; and  the  faithful  prayers  offered 
up  at  a throne  of  grace  on  his  behalf,  seem  to 
have  called  down  a peculiar  blessing  of  God  on 
the  youthful  subject  of  this  memoir.” 1 

What  is  true  of  the  examples  given  in  the 
history  of  the  two  Wesleys  is  equally  true  of 
Edwards.  Trained  up  in  the  way  he  should  go, 
he  continued  in  it  all  the  days  of  his  life. 

Since  I wrote  the  foregoing  lines  and  chap- 
ters, I incidentally  met  three  mothers  in  a social 
circle,  one  of  whom  was  the  mother  of  six  boys. 
All  three  of  these  mothers  were  professedly 
Christian,  and  inasmuch  as  one  of  the  topics  of 
conversation  turned  upon  the  training  of  children, 
I urged  upon  them  the  duty  of  obeying  the 
divine  command  in  order  that  they  might  realize 
the  divine  promise.  They  admitted  that  it  ought 
to  be  obeyed,  but  doubted  if  the  promise  could 
be  realized.  I quoted  the  cases  of  Moses,  Sam- 
uel, and  Daniel  in  sacred  history,  and  of  John 
and  Charles  Wesley  in  modern  biography.  They 
objected  by  saying  these  were  special  cases  in 

1 Life  of  President  Edwards,  as  published  by  the  Amer- 
ican Sunday-school  Union,  pp.  6,  7. 


124 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


which  special  training  was  needed  for  special 
work.  I met  their  objection  with  the  apparent  fact 
in  the  text  that  the  divine  command  is  not 
bounded  by  any  such  limitation,  that  the  language 
is  plain  and  clear,  without  a cloud  of  metaphor, 
that  the  mandate,  “ Train  up  a child  in  the  way  he 
should  go,”  means  any  child  and  that  any  child  sig- 
nifies every  child  without  respect  to  any  special 
work  which  a child  might  be  called  to,  or  any  par- 
ticular office  he  might  be  called  to  fill;  and  the  ob- 
ject and  end  of  the  command  are  the  forming  of 
a good  character  in  every  child — a character 
strong  because  good,  and  useful  because  con- 
formed to  the  divine  will;  a character  capable 
of  resisting  temptation  to  sin,  and  a life  pro- 
ductive of  good  to  the  community  in  which  one 
may  be  born,  to  the  government  of  which  one 
may  be  a subject,  and  to  the  age  in  which  one 
may  be  called  to  run  his  career. 

We  are  not  called  upon  by  the  divine  com- 
mand to  educate,  in  order  that  we  may  be 
kings  like  David  or  queens  like  Victoria,  or  re- 
formers like  Luther  and  Wesley,  or  premiers  like 
Daniel  or  Gladstone,  or  lawmakers  like  Moses  or 
Solon,1  or  prophets  like  Isaiah  and  Ezekiel,  or 
apostles  like  Paul  and  John,  but  because  we  were 

1 See  an  excellent  sketch  of  Solon’s  life  and  character 
in  A nth  on’s  Classical  Dictionary,  pp,  1249-1250. 


THE  DIVINE  PROMISE. 


125 


created  in  God’s  image  and  ordained  to  live  so- 
berly, righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  life, 
to  be  perfect  in  knowledge,  in  love,  in  holiness. 
In  a word  we,  that  is,  every  child  of  Adam  is  born 
to  such  a birthright,  such  an  imperishable  inher- 
itance ; and  blessed  is  that  mother,  that  father, 
that  guardian,  that  citizen  who  is  neither  parent 
nor  guardian,  that  helps  a child  to  the  attainment 
and  enjoyment  of  such  a divine  right — a right 
conferred  by  no  social  circle,  no  civil  organiza- 
tion, no  political  compact,  but  a right  conferred 
by  the  unchangeable  decree  of  the  Omnipotent, 
when  he  made  man  in  his  own  image  and  after 
his  likeness.1 


1 The  image  and  likeness  of  God,  in  which  man  was 
created  fixes  his  sublime  destiny  and  exalts  him  to  the 
society  of  angels  in  heaven.  To  the  fulfillment  of  this 
destiny,  every  child  ought  to  be  trained ; not  for  earthly 
offices,  be  they  ever  so  grand;  nor  emoluments,  be  they 
ever  so  varied;  nor  privileges,  be  they  ever  so  distin- 
guished, but  for  a throne  in  heaven  and  the  crown  of 
eternal  life. 


126 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION \ 


Cl\hptef  XV. 

DOMESTIC  EDUCATION  UNDER  CHRISTIAN  IN- 
FLUENCES THE  HIGHEST  DUTY  OF  THE  PAR- 
ENT AND  THE  CITIZEN. 

THESE  illustrations  which  we  have  given, 
drawn  from  ancient  sacred  history  and  from 
modern  biography,  of  the  practicability  of  the 
divine  command,  and  the  realization  of  the  di- 
vine promise,  proclaim  a very  important  truth, 
and  inculcate  very  important  lessons,  which  we 
shall  now  consider. 

What  is  this  important  truth?  Answer:  The 
highest  duty  of  the  parent  and  the  citizen  is  do- 
mestic education  under  Christian  influences,  guided 
by  Christian  principles,  stimulated  by  Christian 
sentiments. 

One  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
Christian  system  is  the  redemption  of  man  from 
ignorance  and  sin.  We  find  this  principle  an- 
nounced on  the  first  page  of  the  New  Testament. 
The  Christ  is  there  represented  as  Jesus — “ he 
that  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins.”  They 
shall  call  his  name  u Immanuel — God  with  us,” 
(Matt,  i,  21,  23),  “ to  give  knowledge  of  salva- 


DUTY  OF  PARENT  AND  CITIZEN.  127 


tion  unto  his  people  by  the  remission  of  their 
sins.”  (Luke  i,  77.)  To  this  high  and  holy  end 
it  was  foretold  that  “ the  spirit  of  the  Lord  shall 
rest  upon  him,  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  under- 
standing, the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might,  the 
spirit  of  knowledge  and  the  fear  of  the  Lord.” 
(Isaiah  xi.) 

These  quotations  lead  us  to  another  principle 
of  the  Christian  system ; it  is  the  fundamental 
principle  of  human  progress  in  the  onward  and 
upward  direction,  the  very  pivot  upon  which  the 
philosophy  of  history  turns,  namely,  the  ante- 
mundane decree  of  the  Creator,  that  man  shall 
perfect  himself  in  knowledge  and  in  religion. 
(Ephesians  i,  4;  iii,  14-20;  Phil,  i,  9-11.) 

It  is  easily  perceived  that  these  two  prin- 
ciples are  akin,  but  not  identical.  The  first 
is  objective,  the  second  subjective;  the  former 
represents  the  Creator  and  covenant  God  as  op- 
erating upon  humanity ; the  latter  represents  hu- 
manity as  operating  upon  itself  in  harmony  with 
the  divine  law  and  government. 

a.  it  is  under  these  principles,  and  only  un- 
der these,  that  domestic  education  becomes  suc- 
cessful and  beneficial  to  the  family  and  to  society. 
I intend  my  statement  to  be  emphatic.  I mean 
what  I say,  and  say  only  what  I mean.  Educa- 
tion under  any  other  conditions  may  produce  the 


128 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


accomplished  gentlemen  and  the  accomplished 
lady.  But  this  gentleman  and  this  lady  will  be 
as  butterflies,  or  humming  birds — never  the  use- 
ful bees.  Like  butterflies  and  humming  birds 
they  will  always  be  seeking  the  nectar  of  amuse- 
ments and  pleasures  to  gratify  themselves  and  to 
terminate  upon  themselves.  To  plan  and  to  exe- 
cute for  the  well-being  of  others  will  form  no 
portion  of  their  daily  thoughts,  will  never  enter 
into  their  daily  schemes  of  employment  and  en- 
joyment. Like  butterflies  and  humming  birds, 
they  will  live  and  die ; like  humming  birds  and 
butterflies,  their  memories  will  perish  forever. 

b . Education  domestic,  under  other  principles, 
may  produce  the  dandy  and  the  flirt,  whose 
thoughts  and  whose  sentiments  will  be  akin  to 
the  gentleman  and  lady  I have  just  described, 
with  this  difference; — they  will  live,  move,  and 
have  their  being  on  a lower  plane  of  action. 

c.  Domestic  education  under  other  principles 
will  produce  the  gambler,  the  thief,  the  robber, 
the  assassin,  or  the  drunkard,  the  prostitute,  the 
harlot,  the  debauchee,  whose  planning  and  execu- 
ting will  be  the  work  of  devils;  their  lives  will 
be  stained  by  vice,  crime,  and  blood ; their  death 
will  be  accompanied  by  condemnation  and  curses 
upon  the  fathers  who  begot  them  and  the  mothers 
who  brought  them  into  this  world. 


DUTY  OF  PARENT  AND  OITlZEN.  129 

d . Or  domestic  education,  under  other  princi- 
ples and  influences  than  the  Christian,  may  pro- 
duce another  class  of  persons,  whom  we  take  the 
liberty  to  designate  as  the  selfish,  godless,  idola- 
trous financiers,  who  plan  and  execute  only  for 
themselves.  Money  is  the  only  good  which  they 
seek  and  enjoy,  the  only  god  they  are  able 
to  cognize  and  worship.  The  accumulation  of 
wealth  and  honor  is  their  only  delight,  the  joy 
and  rapture  of  their  narrow  souls.  To  do  good 
with  their  silver  and  gold  is  to  draw  a sound 
eye-tooth  out  of  their  mouth;  doubtless  they 
prefer  the  latter. 

Heartless  as  their  silver  and  gold,  or  other 
things  without  life  and  sensibility,  they  can  not 
feel  for  human  suffering,  they  have  no  practical 
sympathy  for  human  progress  in  intellect,  morals, 
or  religion.  The  most  pressing  claims  of  general 
benevolence  or  special  Christian  charity  are,  by 
them,  cruelly  ignored. 

It  is  painful  to  record  the  fact  that  some  of 
these  idolatrous  financiers  are  found  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Christian  Church.  I have  known  at  least 
four  or  five  of  them.  Three  of  these  had  their 
mortal  career  in  the  very  ministry  of  that  branch 
of  the  Christian  Church  to  which  the  writer 
belongs.  One  of  these  was  a contemptible  miser . 
So  much  was  he  given  to  worship  his  gold  and 
9 


130 


D OMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TIOK 


silver  that  he  was  too  mean  to  furnish  himself 
with  the  necessities  of  life.1 

Had  these  men  been  trained  by  Christian 
parents,  especially  by  Christian  mothers,  under 
Christian  principles  and  sentiments,  they  would 
have  been  like  our  adorable  Lord  and  Master, 
the  most  unselfish  and  the  most  self-abnegating, 
pouring  out  their  silver  and  gold  in  behalf  of 
Christian  education  and  Christian  missions,  as  the 
God-man  poured  out  his  heart’s  blood  for  the 
redemption  of  the  world ! 

What  I have  said  about  these  four  classes 
of  persons  are  irrefutable  facts,  and  therefore  we 
name  the  Christian  sentiment  and  the  Christian 
principle.  The  Christian  sentiment  springs  from 
the  Christian  principle.  It  is  the  logical  conse- 
quent of  it.  When  one  has  thought  deeply 
about  the  principles  which  underlie  the  Christian 
teachings  he  is  almost  always  led  to  feel  deeply 
respecting  the  duties  enjoined  by  Christ  and  the 
apostles,  by  Moses  and  the  prophets.  Hence, 
he  is  moved  to  do  what  Jesus  commands,  and 
this  he  does  not  merely  from  a sense  of  duty 
but  also  from  the  love  of  him  who  commands, 
and  because  he  commands  and  teaches  only  what 

1 By  this  I mean  those  things  necessary  for  comfort  and 
cleanliness.  He  lived  more  like  a dog  in  his  kennel  than 
as  a Christian  minister  in  a Christian  homestead. 


DUTY  OF  PARENT  AND  CITIZEN  131 


is  true  and  beautiful  and  good — that  alone  which 
makes  humanity  pure  and  happy ; that  alone 
which  honors  and  glorifies  him,  whose  attributes 
are  inimitable,  and  whose  will  is  incomparably 
good.  This  deep  sense  of  the  good  in  the  nature 
of  what  is  taught  and  commended  by  Moses  and 
the  prophets  or  by  Jesus  and  the  apostles,  is  what 
we  call  the  Christian  sentiment. 

Now,  where  the  Christian  principle  and  the 
Christian  sentiment  are  not  found,  their  opposites 
obtain — first  in  the  hearts  of  the  heads  of  fami- 
lies ; secondly,  in  their  homes.  But  the  Chris- 
tian principle  and  the  Christian  sentiment  com- 
bined, always  create  a Church  in  the  household. 
The  converse  of  this  statement  is  true. 

Hence,  where  there  is  no  Church  in  the  house- 
hold, no  altar  at  the  fireside,  no  God  to  be  wor- 
shiped morning  and  evening,  nothing  great  and 
good  can  proceed  from  it,  nothing  but  human 
selfishness,  which  is  the  inexhaustible  fountain 
of  all  the  sins  and  crimes  which  man  can  com- 
mit against  his  fellow-man  or  against  the  holy 
Creator  who  made  him. 

I think  we  have  fully  demonstrated  the  truth 
and  the  consequent  facts,  that  out  of  the  conse- 
crated home  issue  all  the  manly  virtues  and  all 
the  Christian  graces,  embodied  in  the  persons  and 
manifested  in  the  lives  of  such  men  as  Moses, 


132 


D OMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


Samuel,  and  Daniel,  of  ancient  times,  and  of  John 
and  Charles  Wesley  and  J.  Edwards,  of  mod- 
ern times. 

When  such  men  go  forth  from  the  conse- 
crated fireside  they  go  to  make  the  world  wiser, 
purer,  and  better.  They  accomplish  such  results 
by  the  lessons  of  practical  wisdom,  which  they 
teach  and  the  godlike  examples  which  they  set — 
examples  of  personal  rectitude  and  moral  he- 
roism. 

But  their  elevating  influence  is  not  confined 
to  their  own  countries,  age,  and  race.  No  ! It 
touches  all  the  ages  and  all  the  races,  because, 
like  sun-light  and  sun-heat,  the  influence  of  good 
and  great  men  overleaps  all  geographical  boun- 
daries, and  penetrates  all  climes  to  enlighten, 
vivify,  and  stimulate  the  progress  of  humanity  in 
the  Christian  direction. 

When  Amram  and  Jochebed  were  training 
their  infant  in  their  consecrated  home,  they  knew 
not  that  they  were  cradling  and  nursing  a man 
to  be  the  teacher,  leader,  and  emancipator  of  their 
enslaved  race  and  the  lawgiver  of  humanity ; but 
they  did  it.  And,  as  parents,  they  were  perform- 
ing the  highest  duty  possible  to  them.  They 
were  blessing  both  Church  and  state. 

So,  also,  when  Elkanah  and  Hannah  were 
training  little  Samuel  at  their  consecrated  fire- 


DUTY  OF  PARENT  AND  CITIZEN.  133 


side  they  were  unconscious  of  the  fact  they  were 
preparing  a man  to  be  the  best,  the  grandest  of  all 
the  judges  of  Israel,  to  be  the  faithful  prophet  and 
the  heroic  maker  of  kings ; but  they  did  it,  and 
in  so  doing  they  conferred  blessings  upon  the 
Church  and  the  state. 

Even  so,  when  the  unknown  parents  of  Daniel 
were  training  him  by  instilling  into  his  mind  the 
truths  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  thereby  imparting 
to  his  developing  intellect  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  God,  never  thought  they,  for  a moment,  that 
they  were  educating  one  of  the  two  greatest  of 
the  historic  prophets  and  the  wisest  of  all  the 
princely  governors  of  the  magnificent  empires 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  of  Darius,  and  of  Cyrus.1 


luHe  had  served  five  kings,  Nebuchadnezzar,  Evil- 
Merodach,  Belshazzar,  Darius,  and  Cyrus.  Few  courtiers 
have  had  so  long  a reign,  served  so  many  masters  without 
flattering  any,  been  more  successful  in  the  management  of 
public  affairs,  been  so  useful  to  the  states  where  they 
were  in  office,  or  have  been  owned  of  God,  or  have  left 
such  an  example  to  posterity.  Where  shall  we  find  min- 
isters like  Samuel  and  Daniel!  None  so  wise,  so  holy,  so 
disinterested,  so  useful,  have  ever  since  appeared  in  tJ-e 
nations  of  the  earth.”  (Adam  Clarke,  Comment  at  the 
end  of  the  sixth  chapter  of  Daniel.) 

Rollin,  speaking  of  the  superior  position  which  Daniel 
held,  among  one  hundred  and  twenty  governors  over  whom 
Cyrus  placed  him,  says:  “Daniel  deserved  such  a prefer- 
ence not  only  on  account  of  his  great  wisdom,  which  was 
celebrated  throughout  the  East,  and  had  been  displayed 


134 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


But  they  did  prepare  him  in  the  bosom  of  their 
consecrated  home  to  perform  his  part  grandly  in 
the  complex  drama  of  human  history. 

In  like  manner  have  many  conscientious,  intel- 
ligent, and  pious  parents  so  trained  their  sons 
and  their  daughters  within  consecrated  homes, 
that  they  ultimately  went  forth  with  intellectual, 
moral,  and  spiritual  power  to  labor  effectually  for 
the  redemption  and  reconstruction  of  the  globe ; 
if  not  on  so  grand  a scale  as  Luther  and  Wesley, 
they  did  it  successfully  in  their  heaven-appointed 
spheres  of  action. 

We  can  not  set  too  high  an  estimate  upon  the 
services  which  such  parents  have  rendered  society. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  intellectual, 
moral,  and  spiritual  power  which  such  parents 
and  such  citizens  contribute  to  the  Church  and 
the  state  is  of  more  value  than  millions  of  gold. 

in  a distinguished  manner  at  Belshazzar’s  feast,  but  like- 
wise on  account  of  his  great  age  and  consummate  expe- 
rience ; for,  at  that  time,  it  was  full  sixty-seven  years  from 
the  fourth  of  Nebuchadnezzar  that  he  had  been  prime 
minister  of  the  kings  of  Babylon.”  (“Ancient  History,” 
Vol.  I,  page  135.) 


DOMESTIC  UNITY, 


135 


C^hptef  XVI. 

DOMESTIC  UNITY— THE  MOTHER  AND  FATHER 
CO-LABORERS. 

JUST  as  unity  is  good  in  domestic  government, 
so,  also,  is  it  good  in  domestic  instruction. 
To  teach  is  as  much  the  duty  of  the  parents  as 
to  govern ; therefore,  co-labor  on  the  part  of  the 
father  and  the  mother  in  training  the  intellect  of 
a child  will  secure  a more  perfect  development 
of  the  intellectual  forces.  Two  are  better  than 
one,  for  counsel  as  well  as  for  war;  for  this 
reason,  as  long  as  they  live  should  both  parents 
act  conjointly  in  mental  cultivation.  They  may 
divide  their  educational  work.  Taste  and  adap- 
tation will  give  the  rule  for  such  a division. 

The  taste  and  experience  of  the  father  may 
render  him  the  better  fitted  to  instruct  in  arith- 
metic, algebra,  and  geometry,  while  that  of  the 
mother  may  qualify  her  to  teach  history,  geog- 
raphy, and  grammar.  Taste  and  natural  aptness 
may  make  the  father  a better  teacher  of  zoology, 
geology,  and  mineralogy,  while  that  of  the  mother 


136 


DOMESTIC  EDUCA  TIOK 


may  make  her  more  successful  in  botany,  music, 
and  some  other  of  the  fine  arts. 

The  father  may  excel  in  one  or  more  of  the 
physical  sciences,  as  astronomy  and  chemistry, 
while  the  mother  may  eclipse  him  in  one  or  more 
of  the  intellectual  forms  of  knowledge,  such  as 
mental  and  moral  philosophy  ; and  while  the  father 
may  give  to  his  children  an  insight  into  the  mys- 
teries of  the  sublime  science  of  theology,  the 
mother  may  inculcate  the  simple  and  practical 
duties  of  the  Christian  religion.  Of  course,  all 
this  domestic  education,  must  be  in  the  majority 
of  cases  almost  entirely  of  an  elementary  character. 

To  preserve  as  well  as  possible  an  equal  in- 
fluence over  their  children,  both  should  thus  par- 
ticipate in  the  divine  and  ennobling  work  of  do- 
mestic education ; both  should  manifest  an  equally 
deep  concern  in  the  present  and  future  hap- 
piness of  their  offspring,  if  they  be  parents — 
in  their  wards,  if  they  be  guardians  or  foster 
parents. 

1.  But  there  is  a sense  in  which  the  mother  is 
the  special  teacher  and  educator  of  her  own  child, 
and  every  mother  ought  to  be  conscious  of  this 
truth,  because  it  is  only  the  mother  having  this 
consciousness  who  diligently  performs  her  duty 
as  a mother.  It  is  only  the  mother  conscious  of 
the  fact  that  God  has  made  her  the  special  trainer 


DOMESTIC  UNITY . 


137 


of  the  infant  and  youthful  mind  who  will  per- 
sist in  the  good  work  of  domestic  education,  and 
who  will  delight  in  the  glorious  task. 

Before  the  birth  of  a child,  who  can  think  of 
it  as  the  mother?  When  the  babe  is  introduced 
into  this  world,  who  can  love  it  as  the  mother? 
All  along  the  winding,  spiral  journey  of  life, 
who  can  think  about  that  son  or  that  daughter 
as  the  mother? 

O,  there  is  a depth,  a height,  a strength,  a 
sweetness  in  a mother’s  love  which  human  lan- 
guage can  not  express!  Now,  it  is  this  very 
depth  and  height,  and  strength,  and  sweetness, 
which  endangers  her  child,  because  if  such  a 
love  is  not  sanctified  by  the  superior  love  of  God, 
and  controlled  by  that  practical  wisdom  which 
cometh  down  from  on  high,  her  affections  will  be- 
come blind  and  idolatrous,  and  she  will  spoil  the 
child.  Her  blind,  idolatrous  love  has  often  ended  in 
the  destruction  of  its  object.  To  direct,  modify, 
and  control  her  heart,  she  needs  the  enlightened 
head  and  will  that  always  purpose  the  highest 
good  of  her  son  or  her  daughter. 

Therefore,  permit  me  to  suggest  that  every 
mother,  following  the  example  of  the  far-sighted 
and  devout  Hannah,  ought  to  pray  for  her  child 
before  its  birth,  dedicate  it  to  the  Creator  at  its 
birth,  and  as  soon  as  possible  take  the  tender  in- 


138 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


fant  to  the  house  of  God,  and  at  his  holy  altar 
dedicate  it  the  third  time  in  holy  baptism  to  the 
service  of  him  who  can  do  for  the  consecrated 
child  that  which  the  combined  wisdom  and  ener- 
gies of  both  parents  can  not  perform. 

This  threefold  consecration  of  a child  by  the 
mother  will  accomplish  several  things  needed 
for  successful  training. 

1st.  It  will  bring  down  upon  the  mother  a 
deeper  sense  of  her  obligation  and  responsibilities 
than  mere  consciousness  can  impart.  She  will 
see  and  feel  that  the  deliberate,  solemn,  and  sa- 
cred vows  made  by  herself  to  the  Creator,  who 
is  also  her  covenant  God,  must  never  be  broken 
nor  willfully  neglected. 

2d.  She  will  see  and  feel  that  her  infant  was 
not  given  as  a creature  to  be  petted  as  one  pets 
a pretty  lap-dog,  or  as  a vain  woman  cherishes  a 
glittering  jewel. 

3d.  She  will  comprehend  the  fact  that  her 
heaven-sent  child  has  an  immortal  soul,  which  is 
far  more  valuable  than  all  the  treasures  of  earth, 
and  which,  if  properly  trained,  will  “ shine  as 
the  brightness  of  the  firmanent,”  and  “as  the 
stars  forever  and  ever.”  (Daniel  xiii,  3.) 

4th.  Under  such  perceptions  and  conceptions, 
under  such  correct  and  Scriptural  convictions  she 
will  be  prepared  to  begin  the  work  of  domestic 


DOMESTIC  UNITY . 


139 


education,  inspired  by  the  divine  command, 
“ Train  up  a child  in  the  way  he  should  go,” 
confiding  in  the  divine  promise  that  “ When  he 
is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it.” 

5th.  There  will  be  a divine  influence  encircling 
such  a pious  mother  and  her  consecrated  child 
(Hebrews  i,  13,  14;  Psalm  ciii,  17,  18;  Psalm 
xxxiv,  7),  which  godless  parents  can  never  realize. 

6th.  Acting  under  such  thoughts,  sentiments, 
and  influences,  the  mother  will  have  power  over 
the  head,  the  heart,  and  the  will  of  the  child, 
such  as  no  other  human  being  can  exert — the 
father  of  the  child  himself  not  excepted.  If 
qualified,  the  mother  can  be,  for  she  ought  to  be, 
the  first  educator  in  letters,  the  first  in  morals, 
the  first  in  religion. 

а . From  the  first  day  after  the  birth  of  her 
child,  to  the  hour  of  the  day  when  that  child 
enters  the  common-school  or  the  select-school  to 
take  the  first  lessons  which  the  school-master  or 
school-mistress  can  impart,  what  glorious  oppor- 
tunities nature  and  God  have  placed  at  her  com- 
mand to  instruct,  to  guide,  to  control  the  immor- 
tal mind  ! 

б.  O,  if  she  be  wise,  how  she  can  affect  both 
earth  and  heaven,  both  time  and  eternity,  by  her 
diligent,  daily,  prayerful  teachings,  and  her  Chris- 
tian examples  of  holiness  and  self-abnegation ! 


140 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


c.  No  ball  room,  no  opera,  no  theater,  nor  any 
other  amusement,  could  induce  such  a mother  to 
abandon  her  child  to  the  care  of  a servant  or  a 
neighbor. 

d.  Remembering  that  “ the  boy  is  father  of  the 
man,”  and  that  the  girl  is  mother  of  the  woman, 
she  will  not  sacrifice  the  future  of  her  child  to 
the  present,  but  will,  in  the  present  hour,  sow  the 
good  seeds  in  order  that  the  future  may  yield 
the  golden  harvest  of  all  the  manly  and  womanly 
virtues  and  all  the  Christian  graces. 

2.  As  the  mother  is  the  first  teacher,  so,  also, 
she  is  by  the  very  law  of  nature  the  first  guide  of 
her  offspring.  To  impart  instruction  to  a child 
is  only  one-third  part  of  its  training.  If  the 
mother  stops  at  that,  she  will  leave  untouched 
two-thirds  of  her  work — yes  two-thirds  of  her 
important  and  formative  task.  It  is  not  enough 
that  she  teach  her  child  the  difference  between 
the  right  and  the  wrong;  it  is  not  enough  that 
she  point  out  the  distinctions  which  the  difference 
creates.  It  is  her  bounden  duty  to  lead  the 
young  moral  agent  away  from  the  wrong  into  the 
right,  and  holding  him  or  her  by  the  hand,  keep 
the  child  there  in  that  good  old  path  of  right- 
eousness in  which  there  is  no  death,  but  life  ev- 
erlasting. 

The  infant  needs  to  be  guided,  the  child  must 


DOMESTIC  UNITY . 


141 


be  guided,  the  youth  ought  to  be  guided  until  he 
or  she  be  confirmed  in  the  right. 

3.  The  mother  is  also  the  first  commander . 
As  nature  has  made  her  the  first  teacher  and  first 
guide  of  the  child,  so,  also,  is  she  made  the  first 
commander  of  her  little  boy  or  her  little  girl.  To 
teach  a child  is  an  important  work,  to  guide  it  is 
equally  important,  to  command  is  sometimes  more 
necessary  than  to  teach  or  to  guide  the  wavering 
steps  of  the  infant,  the  child,  or  the  youth.  These 
are  inseparable  parts  of  the  work  of  education 
which  the  mother  is  daily  called  to  perform. 

Some  silly  sentimentalists  object  to  this  part  of 
parental  labor : “ To  command  a child  to  do 

this  or  that,  to  forbid  a child  to  do  this  or  that, 
sounds  too  much  like  slavery.  You  may  teach 
a child,  or  advise,  or  guide  him,  but  you  must 
never  command , and  should  the  child  refuse  to 
obey  you  must  never  enforce  the  command  by  the 
rod.  O ! no ! That  is  slavery,  that  is  cruelty. 
That  takes  the  spring  out  of  the  boy.” 

Such  people  seem  to  believe  that  they  are 
wiser  than  God,  and  far  more  loving  than  he. 
The  inspired  apostle  tells  us  that  “ God  is  love.” 
This  is  a true  witness,  “ God  is  love.”  But,  not- 
withstanding he  enforces  obedience  by  a command 
and  by  a rod.  To  command  and  to  bless  the 
obedient,  to  command  and  to  punish  the  disobedient 


142 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


are  parts  of  his  method  of  governing  the  universe. 
Nature  teaches  this  to  the  heathen  and  to  the 
Christian.  Revelation  confirms  and  illustrates 
the  certainty  of  this  method  to  every  Christian 
father  and  mother.  God  approved  the  character 
of  Abraham  because  he  commanded  his  children 
and  his  household.  He  also  made  that  fact  a 
reason  for  revealing  to  that  patriarch  his  purpose  to 
destroy  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  (Gen.  xviii,  17-19. 
He  also  tells  us  the  end  for  which  Abraham  com- 
manded his  children  and  his  household.  It  was 
two  fold:  a.  That  they  should  keep  in  the  paths 
of  righteousness,  b.  That  the  blessings  promised 
to  him  and  to  his  children  might  be  realized. 

Just  at  this  point  this  divine  statement  con- 
cerning Abraham  is  worthy  of  analysis.  To  make 
this  we  are  compelled  to  go  behind  the  naked 
statement.  1st.  God  had  promised  that  the 
descendants  of  Abraham  should  be  a great  and 
mighty  nation.  2d.  That  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
should  be  blessed  in  him.  (Gen.  xii,  1, 2.)  3d.  That 
this  mighty  nation  should  be  innumerable  as  the 
stars  in  heaven  and  the  dust  of  the  earth.  (Gen- 
esis xiii,  16;  xv,  5.)  4th.  That  kings  should  be 
among  his  progeny.  (Genesis  xvii,  6.)  But  every 
one  of  these  promised  blessings  was  conditioned 
upon  Abraham’s  domestic  government — the  home 
training — the  household  education  which  God  re- 


DOMESTIC  UNITY. 


143 


quired  him  to  impart  to  his  children  and  to  his 
servants.  5th.  But  while  God  promised  these 
things,  Abraham  was  required  to  do  something 
more  than  to  teach  “ justice  and  judgment  ” — he 
must  enforce  them  by  commands.  6th.  His 
children  and  his  servants  were  under  obligation 
to  obey  as  well  as  to  learn. 

We  are  now  justified  in  affirming,  that  as  to 
command  is  a part  of  the  method  of  the  divine 
government,  so,  also,  it  must  be  a part  of  the 
method  of  every  wise  family  government. 

In  all  nature  and  throughout  all  her  ramifi- 
cations, order,  law,  and  government  prevail ; and 
above  all  these,  and  over  all  these,  there  is  au- 
thority. This  last  thing  gives  vitality,  strength, 
power,  and  stability  to  the  others;  it  also  clothes 
them  with  a divine  dignity  which  they  could 
neither  acquire  nor  retain  without  it. 

That  mother,  therefore,  is  wise  who  to  her  in- 
struction and  guidance  adds  commandments,  and 
gives  as  a reason  for  all,  her  divine  authority, 
vested  in  her  by  one  who  is  infinitely  above  her 
and  above  all  others  who  pretend  to  teach  and 
to  govern. 

Such  is  the  divine  task  committed  to  every 
mother  as  a portion  of  her  daily  work.  It  is  one 
which  no  mother  can  omit,  neglect,  or  ignore 
with  impunity.  It  is  beautiful,  important,  glo- 


144 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


rious ! The  diligent,  faithful  discharge  of  it  will 
prove  a blessing  to  herself  as  well  as  to  her  chil- 
dren, and  her  children’s  children.  She  is  a 
crown  of  glory  to  her  husband — a queen  among 
women  ! 


THE  FATHER'S  WORK. 


145 


C^kptef  XVII. 


THE  FATHER’S  WORK  AND  INFLUENCE. 

ET  us  never  forget  the  father  is  the  joint 


JL/  factor  for  producing  a noble  character  in  his 
son  and  in  his  daughter.  This  statement  is  finely 
illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  parents  of  Madame 
de  Stael.  Her  character  is  due,  not  to  the  train- 
ing of  her  mother  only,  nor  her  father  only,  but 
to  the  joint  action  and  influence  of  both.  In  the 
training  of  this  extraordinary  woman,  the  influ- 
ence of  the  father  dominated  that  of  the  mother. 
I presume  that  in  many  cases  it  will  be  so ; be- 
cause, in  domestic  life,  as  well  as  in  the  social  cir- 
cle, in  civil  life  and  in  political  spheres,  the  stronger 
character  will  always  dominate  the  weaker. 

Happy  are  those  parents  whose  influences  are 
equally  felt  by  their  children,  up  to  whom  sons 
and  daughters  look  with  equal  love  and  venera- 
tion. And  yet  I may  be  allowed  to  express  the 
opinion  that,  where  the  father  is  the  most  thor- 
oughly educated,  has  traveled  more,  seen  more 
of  life,  and  has  also  lived  much  longer  than  the 


10 


146 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


mother,  this  dominant  influence  may  be  ex- 
pected. But,  with  all  this  admission,  I believe 
the  mother  is  the  natural  molder  of  character. 

How  can  the  father  aid  the  mother  in  her 
important  and  glorious  work  ? I now  have  special 
regard  to  the  formation  of  moral  and  religious 
character,  because  I have  indicated  on  a former 
page  how  he  can  aid  her  in  imparting  knowl- 
edge to  the  intellect.  But  of  what  use  is  the 
well-disciplined  intellect  if  the  heart  and  the  will 
be  not  properly  trained?  Have  we  not  some- 
times seen  men  of  the  most  powerful  intellect, 
and  of  the  finest  culture  in  a literary  and  artistic 
point  of  view,  mere  blanks  in  society ; and,  at 
other  times,  have  we  not  seen  such  individuals  so 
debased  in  morals  as  to  be  a curse  to  themselves 
and  to  others?  Yes,  all  these  things  we  have 
witnessed,  and  more;  for  we  have  frequently  seen 
such  talented  and  highly  cultivated  men  acting 
the  part  of  skeptics,  scoffers,  and  sneerers. 

We,  therefore,  answer  the  important  question 
by  saying,  the  father  can  aid  the  mother  in  mold- 
ing the  character  of  the  child. 

a.  By  his  fervent,  effectual  prayers  in  behalf  of 
his  unborn  offspring.  Will  not  the  Creator  hear 
and  answer  such  a prayer?  I am  certain  he  will. 
A good  child  is  a good  gift.  When  talented, 
the  gift  is  increased  in  its  value ; and,  when  the 


THE  FATHER'S  WORK. 


147 


gifted  child  has  a consecrated  intellect,  the  value 
of  the  gift  is  augmented  in  a threefold  degree. 
When  inclined  to  the  true,  the  beautiful,  and  the 
useful,  the  gifted,  consecrated  child  becomes  a 
real  blessing  to  the  community  as  well  as  to  the 
parents.  The  well-known  character  of  the  Creator 
warrants  us  in  saying  that  he  is  pleased  to  give 
us  children  with  such  endowments  and  such  incli- 
nations, in  answer  to  our  earnest  and  faithful 
prayers.1 

b.  Moreover,  the  father  can  aid  the  mother  by 
his  fervent,  effectual  prayers  for  his  child  during 
infancy,  childhood,  and  youth.  The  father  is  the 
priest  as  well  as  the  head  of  his  family.  God 
requires  him  to  pray  for  his  children  as  well  as 
to  instruct  and  govern  them. 

Job  is  said  to  have  offered  burnt  offerings 
continually  for  his  children,  and,  also,  that  he 

1 See  Psalm  cxxvii,  3-5,  in  which  we  are  told  that  “chil- 
dren are.  a heritage  of  the  Lord,  and  the  fruit  of  the  womb 
is  his  reward.”  And  we  have  also  another  statement 
which  teaches  the  same  truth.  Here  it  is:  “ But  the  an- 
gel said  unto  him,  Fear  not,  Zacharias,  for  thy  prayer  is 
heard,  and  thy  wife  Elizabeth  shall  bear  thee  a son,  and 
thou  shalt  call  his  name  John,  and  thou  shalt  have  joy 
and  gladness,  and  many  shall  rejoice  at  his  birth,  for  he 
shall  be  great  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  drink 
neither  wine  nor  strong  drink ; and  he  shall  be  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,  even  from  his  mother’s  womb.”  (Luke 
i,  19,  20.)  See  the  comment  of  Dr.  Adam  Clarke  in  loco. 


148 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


continually  “ sanctified  them,”  which  fact  leads  us 
to  declare  that  it  may  be  done  now.  (Job  i,  5.) 

c.  The  father  can  aid  the  mother  of  his  chil- 
dren in  her  noble  work,  by  occasionally  taking 
one  of  them  by  the  hand  and  leading  that  one 
into  some  secret  place,  consecrate  him  or  her  to 
the  service  of  the  living  but  invisible  God  in 
such  a spirit  and  manner  as  will  make  an  indeli- 
ble impression  upon  the  young  immortal,  causing 
him  or  her  ever  after  to  feel  that  there  is  an 
invisible  Father  ever  watching  over  human  ac- 
tions and  working  out  happily  the  destiny  of  all 
who  love,  fear,  and  obey  him.  I also  feel  war- 
ranted in  saying  that  the  Holy  Spirit  will,  in  the 
dreadful  hour  of  temptation,  quicken  the  con- 
science of  such  a consecrated  child  by  reminding 
him  or  her  of  the  consecration  which  the  father 
made,  and  of  the  obligation  to  keep  that  conse- 
cration untarnished.  Thus  the  Holy  Spirit  may 
stimulate  the  consecrated  child  to  resistance  and 
to  victory. 

d.  The  father  can  also  aid  the  mother  by 
enforcing  order,  law,  and  government.  Children 
generally  regard  their  father  as  the  one  having 
authority  to  govern,  and  most  children  are  in- 
clined to  obey  him  when  they  hesitate  to  obey  their 
mother.  This  may  be  natural  instinct,  but  their 
consciousness  may  and  will  ascend  to  the  lofty 


THE  FATHER'S  WORK. 


149 


plane  of  reverence,  when  the  fifth  commandment 
has  been  skillfully  applied  to  the  conscience  of 
the  consecrated  ones. 

e.  Lastly,  fathers  can  aid  the  mothers  by  heed- 
ing the  divine  command  as  it  is  given  in  the 
epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Church  at  Ephesus/ 
See  the  sixth  chapter  and  third  verse : “ Ye  fathers, 
provoke  not  your  children  to  wrath,  but  bring 
them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord.” 

In  this  command  to  fathers,  all  cruelty  and 
severity  is  forbidden,  both  in  words  and  in 
deeds.  Mark,  if  you  please,  every  species  of 
cruelty  and  severity  is  forbidden  the  father;  but 
not  strictness,  for  the  idea  of  strictness  is  in- 
cluded in  " admonition”  and  “ nurture.”  To  be 
watchful,  solicitous,  careful  about  the  moral  de- 
velopment of  a child  is  to  be  strict  ; to  restrain 
our  children  from  evil  is  to  be  strict;  to  pro- 
hibit them  from  associating  with  bad  neighbors 
and  bad  relatives — that  is,  to  keep  them  out  of 
bad  company — is  strictness.1  Such  duties  the 

1 Strict,  Severe. — “ Strict , from  slrictus , bound  or  con- 
fined, characterizes  the  thing  which  binds  or  keeps  in  con- 
trol ; severe  (v.  austere),  characterizes  in  the  proper  sense 
the  disposition  of  the  person  to  inflict  pain,  and,  in  an 
extended  application,  the  thing  which  inflicts  pain.  The 
term  strict,  therefore,  is  taken  always  in  a good  sense.  Se- 
vere is  good  or  bad  according  to  circumstances ; he  who  has 


150 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


father  is  bound  by  the  most  solemn  commands  to 
perform,  which  he  can  not  disobey  without  imper- 
iling his  own  soul  and  the  souls  of  his  children. 

The  true  idea  of  parental  government  is  given 
us  ia  the  hundred  and  seventh  psalm.  It  is  a 
government  of  “ loving  kindness  ” and  “ tender 
mercies.”  And  yet  this  idea  does  not  exclude 
needful  punishment.  To  correct  a child,  even 
with  a rod,  is  an  evidence  of  parental  love;  of  a 
love  that  is  as  wise  as  it  is  tender  and  genuine. 
It  is  to  love  after  the  example  of  the  divine 
Father.* 1 

Hear  what  Isaiah  saith  of  God’s  unutterable 
love  for  his  covenant  people.  “ Can  a woman 
forget  her  sucking  child,  that  she  should  not 
have  compassion  upon  the  son  of  her  womb?” 
“Yea,  they  [mothers]  may  forget,  but  I will 
never  forget  thee.  Behold,  I have  graven  thee 
upon  the  palm  of  my  hand.”  (Isaiah  xlix,  14,  16.)2 

authority  over  others  must  be  strict  in  enforcing  obe- 
dience, in  keeping  good  order,  and  a proper  attention  to 
their  duties.”  (Crabb’s  “Synonyms,”  page  204.)  For 
strictness  the  Word  of  God  has  no  rebuke.  But  it  de- 
nounces and  punishes  all  forms  of  cruelty,  for  cruelty  is 
Satanic. 

1 “ Foolishness  is  bound  up  in  the  heart  of  a child,  but 
the  rod  of  correction  will  drive  it  far  from  him.”  (Prov. 
xxii,  15.) 

2 1 have  seen  more  than  one  mother  and  father  who  dis- 
regarded the  command  expressed,  that  is,  the  precept 


THE  FATHER'S  WORK \ 


151 


Notwithstanding  such  love  for  his  covenant 
people,  God  did  punish  them  on  account  of  their 
sins.  This  was  done,  not  to  torture,  still  less  to 
destroy,  but  to  correct,  purify,  and  fit  them  for 
a higher  life.  It  was  a demonstration  of  his  lov- 
ing kindness  and  his  tender  mercies.  Even  so, 
also,  will  it  be  with  a discriminating  and  judicious 
father,  whose  love  is  neither  blind  nor  stupid, 
but  is  wise  and  far-seeing.  He  will  not  yield  to 
the  present  desire  of  his  child  for  indulgence  of 
the  back  or  the  stomach,  to  sacrifice  his  future 
usefulness  and  well-being,  because  he  knows 
that  the  present  is  always  fleeting,  therefore, 
always  changing  in  color  or  in  form,  sometimes  in 
both,  sometimes  not  in  form  only,  nor  in  color 
only,  but  also  in  its  very  nature.  And  he  also  knows 
the  coming  future  is  approaching,  with  purpose  and 
power  to  change  the  form,  the  color,  and  the 
very  nature  of  things;  to  crush  out  the  evil  and 
to  introduce  the  good,  to  abolish  the  evanescent 
and  to  establish  the  permanent. 

given  in  the  twenty-second  chapter  of  Proverbs,  and  the 
fifteenth  verse,  live  to  repent  and  to  utter  useless  regrets  for 
allowing  a boy  or  a girl  to  do  whatever  appetite  or  mere 
desire  might  dictate,  or  evil  companions  persuade  them 
to  practice,  and  to  see  unrestrained  foolishness  of  the 
child  make  a fool  of  the  man,  and  the  sorrow  of  the  father 
who  begot  him,  and  the  mother  who  introduced  him  into 
this  world. 


152 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


Knowing  that  his  son  or  his  daughter  can 
not  live  in  the  past,  is  changing  with  the  present, 
and  must  live  in  the  future,  he  will  prepare  his 
child  to  be  a man  or  a woman  whose  talents  and 
learning,  whose  piety  and  godliness,  whose  char- 
acter and  usefulness  shall  have  power  to  bless  the 
future  and  lift  it  up  to  the  highest  possible  plane 
of  excellence  in  all  that  is  valuable  to  man  and 
pleasing  to  God, 


SPECIAL  TRAINING  OF  GIRLS. 


153 


Cll&pte*  XVII I. 

SPECIAL  TRAINING  OF  GIRLS. 

“ That  our  daughters  may  he  as  corner-stones  polished  after 
the  similitude  of  a palace — Psalms  cxliv,  12.  • 

UP  to  the  present  hour  we  have  been  thinking 
and  writing  about  a child  and  its  training 
without  particular  reference  to  sex.  We  can  not 
finish  this  essay  until  we  have  dealt  with  a child 
in  the  form  of  a girl,  born  to  affect  society  as  a 
boy  never  can.  If  “ the  boy  is  father  of  the 
man,”  the  girl  is  also  mother  of  the  woman.  She 
is  more.  In  a certain  sense  she  is  maker  of  the 
man. 

A young  man  may  become  a better  scholar 
than  his  mother,  and  may  ultimately  know  more 
of  men  and  things.  But  what  he  is  in  intellect, 
in  morals,  in  religion,  in  character,  is  due  more  to 
his  mother  than  to  any  other  mortal  being ; because 
if  his  mother  has  not  given  him  a powerful  in- 
tellect, the  schools  can  never  give  it  to  him.  But 
it  is  through  the  intellect1  that  we  know  the 

1 “ The  intellect  gives  us  light  simply ; what  has  some- 
times been  called  a dry  light.  With  the  sensibility  added 
we  have  light  and  warmth  blended,  and  a field  for  the  in- 


154 


D OMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TIOK 


right  from  the  wrong  as  well  as  the  true  from 
the  false.  The  student  who  can  not  endure  pro- 
longed and  difficult  studies,  owes  that  weakness 
more  to  his  mother  than  to  any  body  else.2 

His  first  ideas  of  the  Creator,  of  what  is  proper 
or  improper,  he  received  from  his  mother.  The 
first  religious  ideas,  the  idea  of  God  as  an  object 
of  worship  and  prayer,  were  given  him  in  the 
moment  when  she  made  him  bend  his  knees  to 
say,  “Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven.”  If  his 
mother  does  not  plant  and  cultivate  the  seeds  of 
greatness  in  him  until  they  have  taken  deep  root 
in  the  soil  of  his  mental  nature,  I doubt  if  any 
common-school,  or  select-school,  or  high-school, 
or  college,  or  university  can  ever  succeed  in 
making  him  great. 

If  all  we  have  said  of  a mother’s  influence 
over  a boy,  a lad,  a full-grown  man  be  true,  it  is 
far  more  so  of  a girl,  a lass,  a mature  woman,  be- 

tellect  that  covers  the  whole  range  of  possible  combina- 
nations  of  intellect  and  feeling  where  no  conscious  will  or 
purpose  is  involved.  With  the  will  added  we  have  not 
only  light  and  warmth,  but  the  chemical  rays.  The  action 
of  will  not  only  opens  new  fields  to  the  intellect,  but  gives 
new  materials  and  forms  to  the  sensibility.  It  is  here  and 
here  only  that  we  find  any  thing  of  a moral  character.” 
(‘‘Outline  Study  of  Man,”  by  Dr.  Mark  Hopkins,  D.  D., 
LL.  D.) 

2 The  law  or  principle  of  heredity  may  modify  my 
statement. 


SPECIAL  TRAINING  OF  GIRLS. 


155 


cause  the  girl  remains  longer  under  the  sole  care 
of  her  mother,  sees  more  of  her  hidden  life,  and 
imbibes  more  of  her  spirit  than  the  boy  can  pos- 
sibly do.  Almost  always  in  her  habits  the  young 
woman  is  but  a repetition  of  her  mother.1  How 
careful  then  ought  a mother  to  be  in  her  own 
habits,  in  order  that  her  little  girl  may  form  no 
bad  ones  from  her  examples. 

Habits  of  personal  cleanliness  and  neatness 
ought  to  begin  with  the  beginning  of  the  life  of 
her  little  girl.  Habits  of  cleanliness  and  order 
in  playing  with  her  toys  should  be  taught  and 
enforced.  To  gain  this  end  the  little  girl  should 
be  required  to  keep  her  toys  from  being  soiled  by 
filth  of  every  kind;  to  have  a place  for  every  toy, 
and  to  keep  every  toy  in  its  place. 

In  putting  on,  taking  off,  and  putting  away 
she  should  be  early  taught  to  take  care  of  her 
clothes ; and  as  soon  as  she  has  attained  sufficient 
age  and  strength,  she  ought  to  be  required  to 
assist  in  keeping  house.  Not  only  to  keep  every 

1 Every  close  observer  of  families  wherein  are  daugh- 
ters must  recognize  this  fact.  The  gossiping  mother, 
by  the  very  force  of  her  example,  produces  the  gossiping 
daughter,  and  the  habitual  slanderer  produces  her  like- 
ness and  image  in  a slanderous  daughter.  The  slovenly 
mother  trains  her  daughter  into  slovenly  habits,  and  the 
neat  and  orderly  mother  cultivates  these  desirable  habits 
in  every  one  of  her  girls. 


156 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


thing  in  order  within  the  house,  but,  also,  to 
keep  every  thing  out  of  the  house  which  belongs 
to  the  yard,  and  keep  every  article  out  of  the 
yard  which  belongs  to  the  house,  to  keep  out  of 
the  garret  what  should  be  placed  in  the  cellar  and 
out  of  the  cellar  what  should  be  kept  in  the  gar- 
ret; to  keep  out  of  the  parlor  what  belongs  to 
the  kitchen,  and  out  of  the  kitchen  what  belongs 
to  the  parlor,  and  that  such  utensils  as  are  proper 
only  for  the  bed-chamber  should  never  be  found 
outside  of  it. 

Long  before  the  little  girl  is  able  to  under- 
stand the  abstract  principles  of  classification,  she 
can  be  trained  in  the  habit  of  classifying  utensils 
and  objects  that  resemble  one  another.  As  a 
help  to  the  habit  and  power  of  classification,  I ad- 
vise all  parents,  especially  mothers,  to  direct  the 
attention  of  their  little  girls  to  botany,  in  the 
early  study  of  which  they  can  be  made  to  see 
that  order,  classification,  and  system  pervade  all 
the  works  of  God,  and,  therefore,  that  God  him- 
self is  our  model  in  these  respects,  and  that  it  is 
always  useful,  beautiful,  and  good  to  imitate  his 
examples  in  all  things  possible. 

The  natural  love  of  children  for  flowers  will 
make  the  science  of  botany  easy  to  them.  No 
books  will  be  needed  to  induct  them  into  it. 
The  plants  and  flowers  will  be  their  books,  the 


SPECIAL  TRAINING  OF  GIRLS. 


157 


flower  garden,  the  parks,  the  fields  can  be  made 
the  instruments  of  instruction.  Nature  is  God’s 
opened  volume  to  be  read,  studied,  understood 
by  the  simple  little  child,  as  well  as  by  the  astute 
and  learned  philosopher. 

In  the  arrangement  of  the  calyx  and  its  sepals, 
of  the  corolla  and  its  petals,  in  the  relative  posi- 
tion of  stamens  and  pistils,  in  the  varied  forms 
and  colors  and  tints  of  all  these,  in  the  branch- 
ing of  trees  and  their  different  arrangements  upon 
their  trunks,  in  the  forms  and  arrangement  of  leaves 
upon  the  branches  and  of  flowers  upon  the  stalk 
or  axis,  the  little  girl  can  be  made  to  see  how 
wonderfully  and  beautifully  the  Creator  has  con- 
structed the  forms  of  vegetable  life,  guiding  him- 
self, so  to  speak,  by  order  and  classification.  But 
the  little  girl  will  soon  pass  out  of  infancy  into 
childhood,  when  the  brain  power  shall  have  been 
augmented,  then  a repetition  of  the  same  teach- 
ings will  impart  to  her  higher  views  of  the  ideas 
which  these  botanical  things  represent,  and  the 
habit  of  order,  classification,  and  system  will  be- 
come fixed.  Then,  when  she  has  passed  from 
childhood  into  adolescence,  she  will  be  thoroughly 
prepared  to  comprehend  the  abstract  principles 
of  classification  in  natural  history. 

The  young  woman  thus  trained  will  carry  into 
all  her  studies  the  principles,  as  well  as  the  habit 


158 


D OMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


of  classification  and  generalization,  into  all  her 
domestic  affairs,  into  all  her  social  relations. 
Therefore,  she  will  be  the  better  wife  and  the 
better  mother,  the  more  useful  member  of  any 
given  community,  a better  leader  of  that  com- 
munity. 

Rising  higher  in  the  heavenly  idea  and  work 
of  training  the  girls  of  every  family,  how  careful 
and  diligent  ought  mothers  to  be  in  the  inculca- 
tion of  the  womanly  virtues  and  the  exalted  and 
elevating  Christian  graces.  Let  us  proceed  to 
treat  these  as  they  present  themselves  to  our 
thoughts. 

a.  As  I have  shown  elsewhere,  the  first  lesson 
a little  girl  ought  to  be  taught  is  obedience  to  her 
parents — ready,  cheerful,  and  uniform.  But,  as  I 
have  treated  the  subject  of  obedience  at  length 
in  chapter  fourth,  I will,  in  this  connection,  dis- 
miss it,  with  the  remark  that  the  girl  who  will 
not  habitually  obey  her  parents  is  doomed  to 
write  no  history  at  all,  or  one  which  will  be 
blotted  by  vicious,  perhaps  criminal,  indulgences, 
or  unprofitable  amusements  or  extravagant  and 
wasteful  pleasures.  Persistent  disobedience  in  a 
girl  is  the  prophecy  of  a career  which  will  end 
in  personal  misery,  if  not  in  personal  shame  and 
disgrace.  Therefore,  at  the  very  beginning  of 
life  the  mother  ought  to  guard  this  point,  and 


SPECIAL  TRAINING  OF  GIRLS. 


159 


take  special  care  to  exhibit  to  her  infant  girl 
the  divine  beauty  of  obedience,  impelling  her  ill 
the  right  direction,  as  though  an  angel  was  beck- 
oning her  onward  in  the  pathway  to  heaven, 
while  other  angels  were  whispering  in  her  ears, 
“ Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother,  as  the  Lord 
thy  God  hath  commanded  thee,  that  thy  days 
may  be  prolonged,  and  that  it  -may  go  well  with 
thee  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth 
thee.”  (Deuteronomy  v,  16.) 

b.  There  is,  also,  the  virtue  which  we  call 
modesty . If  modesty  be  beautiful  in  a boy,  it  is 
exceedingly  so  in  a girl.  The  immodest  girl  is 
impudent,  bold,  daring,  fond  of  the  company  of 
boys,  especially  vicious  boys.  The  modest  girl 
shuns  them,  as  the  modest  woman  shuns  libidi- 
nous men.  Opposed  to  impudence,  the  modest 
girl  is  respectful  in  her  language  and  behavior. 
Opposed  to  boldness  and  a daring  spirit,  the 
modest  girl  is  retiring.  Opposed  to  arrogance, 
she  has  an  humble  opinion  of  herself.  Opposed 
to  rudeness,  she  is  gentle  in  her  manners. 

Not  by  precept  only,  but  by  example  also, 
the  mother  ought  to  teach  modesty.  Not  by 
precept  and  example  combined  only,  but  by  ear- 
nest daily  prayers  she  should  implore  God’s  pro- 
tection in  behalf  of  her  little  girl,  her  childish  and 
her  youthful  daughter,  in  order  that  all  the 


160 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION . 


elements  which  constitute  a modest  woman  may  be 
vigorous  and  invincible  in  her  when  she  shall 
attain  mature  age,  for  then  she  will  wield  a 
healthy  influence  upon  the  social  circles  in  which 
she  may  move.  Her  modesty  will  shield  her 
from  the  approaches  of  the  men  who  make  a 
business  of  the  seduction  of  young  women.  Her 
modesty  will  also  repel  those  satanic  old  women 
who  are  the  tools  of  the  seducer. 

c.  Veracity , that  is,  the  habit  of  always  speak- 
ing the  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  at  all 
times,  and  in  all  places.  She  should  be  taught 
that  to  tell  a lie,  in  order  that  she  may  hide  a 
fault,  is  meaner  than  the  fault,  whatever  that 
fault  might  be.  And,  as  a help  to  forming  the 
habit  of  truth  telling,  under  all  circumstances, 
parents  should  never  punish  a child  for  acci- 
dentally breaking  an  article,  howsoever  valuable  as 
an  utensil  or  an  ornament  the  article  may  be. 
The  dread  of  punishment  will  induce  a timid 
child  to  lie,  whereas  reproof  and  caution,  kindly 
given,  will  make  her  always  ready  to  speak  the 
truth  about  any  mischief  she  may  do,  through 
carelessness  or  sheer  accident.  In  a word,  make 
your  little  girl  to  believe  and  to  know  that  lying 
is,  under  all  circumstances,  contemptible  and  de- 
grading, but  that  veracity  is,  under  all  circum- 
stances, ennobling  and  honorable ; that  a liar  is 


SPECIAL  TRAINING  OF  GIRLS. 


161 


to  be  detested  and  shunned ; that  the  veracious 
is  to  be  cherished  and  rewarded. 

d . Honesty  is  another  of  the  womanly  vir- 
tues. Therefore,  it  ought  to  be  carefully  and  dili- 
gently cultivated  in  the  mind  of  the  little  girl.  To 
steal  a pin  is  as  mean  and  as  wrong  as  to  steal  a 
horse;  to  steal  a cent  as  wicked  as  to  steal  a 
twenty-dollar  gold  piece.  As  a liar  is  a person 
to  be  expelled  from  respectable  and  good  society, 
so,  also,  is  a thief  to  be  ruled  out  of  the  com- 
munity and  confined  in  the  penitentiary,  and 
therein  compelled  to  work  until  he  has  earned 
sufficient  money  to  restore  what  he  has  stolen. 

Such  teachings  as  these  should  be  imparted  to 
the  girl  as  early  as  possible — that  is,  as  soon  as 
she  can  understand  them.  Let  her  know  that 
stealing  is  the  life  employment  of  a rat  and  a 
fox,  and  that  she  ought  not  to  be  as  mean  as 
rat  or  fox. 

There  is  also  the  womanly,  moral  virtue, 
which  we  call  industry.  Teach  the  little  girl 
that  to  labor  for  one’s  own  bread  and  butter  is 
good,  is  honorable.  God’s  example  ought  to  be 
set  before  her.  That  beautiful  panorama  of  the 
creation  which  Moses  has  given  to  humanity,  in 
which  God,  as  the  great  architect  and  the  great 
workman,  is  seen  executing  his  own  plans  and 
working  out  his  own  details,  ought  to  be  set 
11 


162 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


before  the  mind  of  the  little  girl,  again  and 
again,  in  prose,  in  poetry,  and  in  song;  by  the 
flowers  of  Spring,  by  the  fruits  of  Summer,  by 
the  harvests  of  Autumn,  by  the  snows  and  ice 
and  cold  of  Winter.  And  this  ought  to  be 
repeated  till  she  becomes  familiar  with  it,  till  her 
heart  burns  under  its  light,  her  imagination  glows 
with  its  beauty,  and  her  little  fingers  are  made 
active  in  imitating  the  divine  model.1  To  work 
for  human  well-being  and  the  well-being  of  the 
humblest  sentient  creature  is  God’s  delight;  it  is 
also  to  his  honor  and  glory.  He  is  a contemptible 
fool  who  thinks  otherwise,  and  who  believes  that 
he  degrades  himself  when  he  is  imitating  the 


*God  be  thanked  for  Froebel  and  the  kindergarten 
system,  which  he  has  elaborated  for  the  training  of  the 
little  ones  in  habits  of  industry  and  invention.  At 
this  point  I desire  to  call  the  attention  of  mothers,  whether 
partially  or  thoroughly  educated,  to  an  interesting  and 
useful  work,  written  jointly  by  Mrs.  Horace  Mann  and 
Elizabeth  P.  Peabody,  entitled,  ‘‘Moral  Culture  of  In- 
fancy and  Kindergarten  Guide,”  in  which  they  will  find 
many  valuable  suggestions.  For  mothers  of  advanced 
education  I also  commend  a work  entitled,  “The  Paradise 
of  Infancy,”  by  Edward  Wiebe,  published  by  Milton 
Bradley  & Co.,  Springfield,  Massachusetts.  It  is  “a 
manual  for  self-instruction  in  Friederich  FroebeFs  educa- 
tional principles  and  a practical  guide  to  kindergart- 
ners.”  This  interesting  and  instructive  work  can  be  pur- 
chased at  Mr.  Schermerhorn’s,  No.  14  Bond  Street,  New 
York. 


SPECIAL  TRAINING  OF  GIRLS . 


163 


Almighty.  Such  truths  and  such  facts  should  be 
impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the  little  girls. 

e.  Akin  to  industry  is  thrift,  generally  called 
economy  or  frugality.  It  is  a useful  and  noble 
virtue.  It  makes  the  wife  the  husband’s  treas- 
urer. Saving  his  earnings,  she  increases  his 
wealth,  his  riches,  his  reputation,  his  influence, 
his  usefulness. 

On  the  contrary,  the  woman  who  lacks  thrift 
is  a hole  in  her  husband’s  pocket,  diminishing  his 
wealth,  riches,  reputation,  usefulness,  and  honor. 
It  is  sinful  to  waste  what  others  labor  to  gain. 

What  a sublime  idea  of  thrift  the  Creator  has 
given  us  in  the  indestructibility  of  matter.  And 
what  a beautiful  lesson  of  frugality  in  the  muta- 
tions of  its  forms.  In  nature  nothing  is  wasted. 
What  becomes  useless  in  one  form,  or  at  one 
time  or  stage  of  its  existence,  is  changed  into  a 
new  form  of  life,  beauty,  and  usefulness.  Thus 
he  converts  the  minerals  into  vegetables  and 
flowers,  these  into  animals,  which  are  slain,  and 
their  flesh  becomes  strength  and  life-prolonging 
food  for  man ; who,  when  worn  out  by  labor, 
goes  to  sleep  in  the  dark,  silent  grave,  not  to 
perish  there,  but  in  order  that  he  may  be  trans- 
muted into  the  form  of  an  angel. 

The  relation  of  thrift  to  industry  is  that  of 
the  savings-bank  to  the  financial  results  of  labor. 


164 


D OMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TIOK 


That  which  is  surplus  is  not  thrown  away  upon 
amusements  and  sinful  pleasures,  but  is  preserved 
for  future  use  and  laid  up  for  the  day  of  sick- 
ness and  old  age,  when  the  man  and  the  woman, 
through  manifold  infirmities,  are  unable  to  labor 
for  their  own  support;  also  to  enable  them  to 
contribute  liberally  to  the  various  forms  of  Chris- 
tian benevolence  as  well  as  the  education  of  their 
own  children. 

Such  is  the  Christian  idea  of  industry  and 
thrift.  The  Christian  must  work  and  make 
money,  and  he  must  also  save  it,  in  order  that  he 
may  be  able  to  give.  To  be  worthy  of  the  name 
of  Christian  we  must  study,  understand,  heed, 
and  follow  the  teachings  and  examples  of  Jesus, 
who  was  son  of  man  as  well  as  Son  of  God,  who 
descended  from  heaven  to  give. 

He  was  always  giving,  till  he  gave  his  life 
away  a ransom  for  all.  And,  though  now  in 
heaven,  he  is  still  giving,  and  will  continue  to 
give  till  he  shall  have  given  heaven  itself  and 
the  crown  of  life  to  every  one  who  obeys  his 
teachings  and  practices  his  examples. 

But  we  can  not  give  until  we  shall  have,  but 
to  have,  we  must  be  industrious  and  thrifty  in  order 
that  we  may  have  to  give.  Such  are  the  lessons 
which  mothers  should  take  special  care  to  incul- 
cate in  the  minds  of  their  little  girls,  and  to  cul- 


SPECIAL  TRAINING  OF  GIRLS. 


165 


tivate  until  blooming  womanhood  shall  make  the 
habit  an  inviolable  rule  of  life. 

/.  Temperance  is  akin  to  economy.  It  is  the 
guardian  virtue  of  the  other  virtues,  because  it 
gives  just  what  it  signifies — self-control,  under  all 
temptations  which  may  arise  from  the  principles 
and  emotions  of  self-love.  Our  natural  appetites 
say,  “ Eat  and  drink.”  Temperance  says,  “ Yes, 
but  be  careful — yes,  be  careful  in  what  you  eat  and 
drink.”  Reject  the  hurtful.  Eat  and  drink  only 
that  which  is  wholesome;  and  what  is  wholesome, 
eat  and  drink  only  what  is  enough  to  satisfy  hun- 
ger and  thirst.  Again  temperance  relates  to 
amusements  and  pleasures.  Self-love  leads  the 
young  into  divers  amusements  and  pleasures. 
Well,  they  may  be  good  or  they  may  be  bad  ; if 
bad,  self-control  says  have  nothing  to  do  with 
them.  Shun  them.  Run  away  from  them.  But, 
if  they  be  good,  then  use  them  moderately.  Do 
not  allow  them  to  control  you,  because  if  you  do 
they  will  soon  become  your  masters.  Let  nothing 
on  earth  be  your  masters,  because,  if  you  do, 
they  will  by  and  by  lead  you  to  destruction. 
Therefore,  in  all  things  be  temperate. 

Avoid  gluttony.  Too  much  of  the  most  nutritious 
food  becomes  injurious,  because  it  creates  gluttony. 
Too  much  of  the  most  healthy  drinks  may  induce 
intemperance , therefore,  avoid  extravagance  even 


166 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


in  the  use  of  milk  and  water.  As  for  excitants, 
such  as  coffee  and  tea,  keep  away  your  little  girls 
from  them.  Strong  tea,  especially  green  tea  or 
mixed  tea,  is  ruinous  to  the  nerves.  Excitants  of 
all  kinds  stimulate  the  nervous  system  so  as  to 
affect  the  temper,  and  often  affect  permanently 
the  moral  sentiments  and  character.  In  view  of 
which  we  say  emphatically,  teach  your  little  girl 
temperance  in  all  things.  As  for  intoxicants, 
they  are  “ liquid  fire  and  distilled  damnation;” 
therefore,  teach  your  little  girl  to  fly  from  them 
as  from  deadly  serpents  or  consuming  fire.1 

Such,  by  way  of  distinction,  we  call  the 
womanly  virtues;  because  the  well-being  of  so- 
ciety demands  these  virtues  in  every  woman,  be 
she  educated  or  non-educated,  be  she  rich  or  poor, 
popular  or  obscure. 

Hence,  every  mother  should  carefully,  dili- 
gently, and  prayerfully  cultivate  them  in  her 
daughter  through  all  the  stages  of  development, 
from  early  infancy  to  mature  womanhood.  The 
more  careful,  diligent,  and  prayerful  she  may  be 
in  such  a work,  the  more  certain  will  be  her  suc- 


lrThe  attention  of  mothers  is  hereby  invited  to  an  article 
on  “ Brain  Poisons,”  written  by  Professor  B.  T.  Brown, 
M.  D.,  of  Indiana  University,  which  can  be  found  in  his 
“ Elements  of  Physiology  and  Hygiene,”  pp,  248-262.  See 
also  “ Gospel  Temperance,”  chapter  xx. 


SPECIAL  TRAINING  OF  GIRLS. 


167 


cess.  God  looks  down  from  heaven  upon  such  a 
mother  with  great  delight,  and  never  fails  to  re- 
ward her  labor  of  love.1 

1 Mothers  and  fathers  will  find  some  valuable  sugges- 
tions in  Herbert  Spencer’s  essay  on  ‘‘  Intellectual,  Moral, 
and  Physical  Education.”  In  his  treatment  of  “ Moral 
Education,”  he  fails  however  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  su- 
pernatural power  of  the  truth  of  God,  and  the  Spirit  of 
God.  We  say  Mr.  Spencer  does  not  invoke  divine  aid , 
without  which  all  mere  human  efforts  avail  but  little  in 
the  development  of  moral  character.  So,  also,  we  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  every  system  of  education  which  ex- 
cludes or  ignores  the  divine  power  is  defective  at  the 
very  point  where  it  ought  to  be  most  perfect.  This  sug- 
gestive essay  of  Herbert  Spencer  can  be  obtained  for  fif- 
teen cents  by  purchasing  “ Humboldt’s  Library  of  Popular 
Scientific  Literature,”  vol.  i,  No.  5,  New  York,  J.  Fitz- 
gerald & Co.,  294  Broadway. 


168 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


&|kpteic  XIX. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  GRACES. 

BUT  there  are  higher  and  nobler  qualities  than 
the  moral  virtues  which  the  wise  mother 
will  desire  her  daughter  to  possess.  They  are 
the  beautiful  Christian  graces.  These  are  na- 
tives of  heaven,  and  can  be  obtained  by  seeking 
them  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  There  and  there 
only  can  they  be  found.  Their  names  are  Faith, 
Hope,  Love,  Humility,  Self-abnegation,  Holiness, 
Righteousness. 

These  seven  graces  are  essentially  Christian, 
and  distinguish  their  possessor  from  what  is  ordi- 
narily called  a virtuous  woman.  Each  of  these 
graces  is  a spiritual  power  within  itself,  and  there- 
fore imparts  a spiritual  power  to  the  soul  in 
which  it  dwells,  so  that,  while  it  controls  its  pos- 
sessor, it  also  makes  him  and  her  a blessing  to 
others. 

Thus,  Faith  enables  us  to  recognize  God  in 
all  events,  either  as  causing  them  or  controlling 
them,  so  that  we  shall  not  be  murmuring  and 
repining  at  the  losses  of  property,  or  health,  or 


THE  CHRISTIAN  GRACES. 


169 


friends,  or  at  the  financial  disparity  between  one’s 
self  and  one’s  neighbors,  but  always  under  ad- 
verse circumstances,  to  say  with  Job,  “ Though  he 
slay  me,  yet  will  I trust  in  him.” 

Hope  cheers  one  amidst  obstructing  difficul- 
ties and  disappointments,  to  persevere  and  to 
work  in  behalf  of  the  good  cause,  expecting 
sooner  or  later  to  conquer  and  to  triumph,  even 
in  the  present  life,  and  with  a face  turned  heaven- 
wards, to  anticipate  the  coming  glories  of  the 
new  creation.1 

Humility  shields  us  against  pride,  vanity,  and 
flattery.  Balancing  all  our  talents  and  attainments, 
she  causes  us  to  be  useful  to  the  high  and  the 
low,  to  the  rich  and  the  poor,  to  the  vilest  and 
the  best. 

Self-abnegation  makes  us  ever  ready  to  empty 
ourselves,  and  if  need  be,  to  die  that  others 
might  live.2 


behold,  I create  new  heavens  and  a new  earth: 
and  the  former  shall  not  be  remembered,  nor  come  into 
mind.  Isaiah  lxv,  17.  et.  “We  according  to  his  promise, 
look  for  new  heavens  and  a new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness.”  2 Peter  iii,  13.  See,  also,  Rev.  xxi,  1. 

2 Saint  Paulin  Philippians  ii,  5-8  says:  ‘‘Have  the 
mind  in  you  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus ; who  being 
in  the  form  of  God  counted  it  not  a prize  to  be  on  an  equal- 
ity with  God,  but  emptied  himself,  taking  the  form  of  a 
servant,  being  made  in  the  likeness  of  men ; and  being 
found  in  fashion  as  a man,  he  humbled  himself,  becoming 


170 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


Holiness  gives  ns  freedom  from  sin  and  power 
to  repel  all  her  poisoned  arrows. 

Righteousness  imparts  ability  to  plan  and  to 
execute  for  the  well-being  of  mankind,  and  al- 
ways to  dispense  equal  rights,  equal  privileges, 
and  equal  justice  to  all. 

And  Love ! Divine  love , placing  us  and  keep- 
ing us  at  one  with  God  and  the  universe,  will 
ever  be  guiding  us  safely  through  the  winding, 
spiral  pathway  of  life,  and  in  the  hour  of  death 
she  will  clothe  us  with  the  shining  robes  of 
immortality. 

These  seven  graces  follow  the  new  creation  as 

obedient  unto  death,  yea,  the  death  of  the  cross.”  I have 
quoted  from  the  new  version  of  the  Testament.  The 
sense  is  the  same  as  the  old  version.  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  in 
locoy  translates  as  here,  “ he  emptied  himself.”  Dr.  Louis 
Segond,  of  Geneva,  in  his  new  translation  of  the  original 
says,  “ He  despoiled  himself,”  s’est  depouil/e  lui-meme.  Os- 
terwald  renders  it  by  “ He  annihilated  himself.”  This 
is  very  strong,  “II  s’est  aneanti  soi-meme.'1  In  my  judg- 
ment it  is  the  deepest  sense,  and  comes  nearer  to  the  fact  of 
Christ’s  history,  especially  at  its  terminus,  abandoning  his 
dignity,  glory,  and  power  for  the  time  being,  he  reduced 
himself  to  the  condition  of  a servant,  that  we,  the  slaves 
of  sin  and  Satan,  might  become  “ kings  and  priests.” 

Note  well  his  profound  humility  is  accompanied  by 
a perfect  obedience.  Indeed  they  are  inseparable  virtues. 
They  are  ever  cognizant  of  law — I use  the  word  in  its 
highest  as  expressive  of  the  divine  will.  Pride,  the  an- 
tagonist of  humility  is  ever  ready  to  rebel  against  law  and 
to  trample  the  poor  and  the  weak  under  her  feet. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  GRACES. 


171 


light  follows  the  sun.  They  may  be  called  beams 
from  the  Infinite.  No  amount  of  literature,  nor 
science,  nor  philosophy,  nor  art,  nor  culture 1 
can  bestow  these  immortal  powers  upon  any  child 
of  Adam.  They  are  divine;  but  can  be  attained 
by  earnest  prayer  to  God,  who  is  always  willing 
and  ready  to  bestow  them  upon  “ the  broken 
heart  and  the  contrite  spirit.”  (Psalm  xxxiv,  18; 
li,  17 ; Isaiah  lvii,  15.)  Such  is  the  teaching  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  his  sermon  on  the 
Mount,  and  in  his  farewell  discourses  to  his  dis- 
ciples. (John  xiv,  21-23.) 

The  womanly  and  moral  virtues  qualify  any 
female  for  a proper  discharge  of  many  of  the  du- 
ties and  obligations  of  life — but  not  for  all.  The 
Christian  graces  lifting  her  up  on  a higher  plane 
of  action;  enable  her  to  discharge  all  the  moral 
duties  and  obligations  of  life  by  imparting  to  her 
a spiritual  might,  a strength — a power  which  is 
supernatural.  Therefore,  as  the  moral  virtues 
bind  us  to  our  fellow-creatures,  the  Christian 
graces  unite  us  to  the  Infinite  God.  So,  then,  as 
the  former  lift  us  above  the  level  of  the  vicious 
and  the  criminal,  the  latter  exalt  to  the  associa- 

1 1 here  employ  the  word  culture  to  signify  the  com- 
bined influences  and  results  of  all  literary,  scientific,  phil- 
osophical, and  artistic  attainments  on  the  mind  and  the 
manners  of  an  educated  person. 


172 


DOMESTIC  ED  UCA  TION. 


tion  of  angels,  and  the  “spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect.”  (Hebrews  xii,  22-29.) 

Train  up  the  little  girl  in  these  moral  virtues 
and  these  Christian  graces,  and  you  will  give  her 
the  power  to  develop  herself  into  the  highest  and 
most  beautiful  form  of  womanhood,  because  it 
will  be  the  Christian — than  which  none  can  be 
higher,  stronger,  nobler,  or  more  beautiful.  She 
may  then  rank  among  the  noblest  wives,  the  no- 
blest mothers,  the  noblest  benefactors  of  her  race, 
her  country — humanity. 

On  such  a moral  and  spiritual  base  you  may 
erect  the  broadest,  highest,  most  beautiful  edifice, 
adorned  with  the  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones 
of  literature,  science,  art,  and  philosophy.  Such 
an  edifice  will  neither  fall  nor  totter,  because  the 
ideal  woman  of  the  royal  mother  of  king  Lemuel 
will  be  realized  in  her.1 

In  addition  to  the  method  for  the  special  train- 
ing of  girls  which  we  have  given,  I would  sug- 
gest the  employment  of  the  biographies  of  women 
distinguished  for  their  talents,  learning,  or  Chris- 
tian usefulness.  My  models  for  their  study  and 
imitation  would  not  be  such  a genius  as  Madame 
De  Stael;  but  rather  of  Mary  Somerville,  and 

1 1 beg  mothers  to  read  and  ponder  well  Dr.  Tweedie’s 
chapter  on  “ Daughters.”  See  his  eloquent  work  entitled 
“ Home,  A Book  for  the  Family  Circle,”  pp.  148-158. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  GRACES. 


173 


above  the  latter  I would  set  Susannah  Wesley, 
because  her  character  and  domestic  discipline 
have  effected  infinitely  more  for  the  solid  and 
permanent  well-being  of  humanity  than  the  lit- 
erary attainments  of  Madame  De  Stael,  or  the  sci- 
entific acquirements  of  Mrs.  Somerville  ; for  just 
as  far  as  the  moral  and  the  spiritual  rise  above 
the  intellectual  and  the  literary,  so,  also,  does  the 
influence  of  Susannah  Wesley  excel  the  influence 
of  Madame  De  Stael  or  Mrs.  Somerville. 

The  influence  of  Madame  De  Stael  was  liter- 
ary and  political,  that  of  Mrs.  Somerville  was 
scientific  and  philosophical.  The  influence  of 
each  will.be  modified  and  limited  by  the  lapse 
of  time,  by  advancement  in  literature,  politics, 
and  science,  but  the  moral  and  spiritual  influ- 
ences of  Mrs.  Susannah  Wesley  will  increase  in 
volume  and  power  with  the  advancing  waves  of 
conquering  Christianity. 

In  the  training  of  girls  the  father  ought  to 
unite  with  the  mother  in  her  daily  work  divine. 
We  have  already  indicated  how  this  can  be  done 
by  dividing  the  work  of  daily  intellectual  instruc- 
tion with  his  wife.  But  in  molding,  coloring, 
and  tinting  the  moral  and  religious  character  of 
his  daughter,  he  can  greatly  aid  the  mother  by 
his  own  upright  character,  if  that  character  be 
strong  and  luminous  as  was  the  character  of  Job. 


174 


DOMES  TIC  ED  UCA  TIOK 


Such  a character  will  exert  a greater  influence 
over  the  feelings,  sentiments,  and  thoughts  of  the 
growing  girl  than  all  the  instructions  which  he 
may  daily  impart. 

If  his  character  be  spotless,  if  his  life  be  orna- 
mented with  noble  deeds,  wrought  in  behalf  of 
God  and  man,  he  will  become  an  inspiration  to 
his  daughter,  provided  the  seeds  of  nobleness  be 
in  her  heart,  for  then  she  will  glory  in  him  as 
Madame  De  Stael  gloried  in  the  character  of  her 
noble  sire.  She  will  endeavor  to  be  among 
women  what  her  father  is  among  men — a leader 
in  the  right  direction — in  the  direction  of  the 
Great  Leader  of  leaders  and  Commander  of  com- 
manders in  the  shining  pathway  of  human  progress. 

His  well-balanced  government  in  the  home  ; 
his  fervent,  faithful,  powerful  prayers  at  the 
family  altar  and  in  the  secret  closet,  can  do  much 
in  aiding  the  mother’s  efforts  to  develop  in  her 
growing  daughter,  a noble  and  beautiful  woman- 
hood, noble  and  beautiful,  because  good  and  wise 
and  useful . 

This  harmony  in  government,  this  unity  in 
action,  this  oneness  and  sublimity  in  aim,  ought 
to  characterize  the  daily  conduct  and  work  of  the 
parents  of  children  and  the  guardians  of  wards 
and  proteges.  We  will  see  the  force,  beauty, 
and  emphasis  of  this  thought  when  we  consider 


THE  CHRISTIAN  GRACES. 


175 


the  original  design  of  marriage.  The  man  Adam 
and  the  woman  Eve  were  sinless  when  the  divine 
command,  “ Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replen- 
ish the  earth,”  was  given.  They  were  to  be  fruit- 
ful, to  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth  with  just 
such  sinless  beings  as  they  then  were.  Therefore 
parents,  at  the  present  time,  ought  to  endeavor  to 
fulfill  this  divine  command  just  so  far  as  they 
have  the  power. 

Parents  animated  by  so  high  and  holy  an  aim 
will  be  aided  by  a power  above  their  finite  and 
wavering  energies.  “ For  this  purpose  the  Son 
of  God  was  manifested,  that  he  might  destroy  the 
works  of  the  devil.”* 1 

1 See  the  whole  passage  from  which  we  have  quoted, 

1 John  iii,  1-10.  See,  also,  the  Psalm  cxix,  1,  2,  3.  The 
statements  of  St.  John  are  an  assurance  of  supernatural 
aid  in  our  conflict  with  evil.  Upon  the  pious  household, 
where  such  parents  dwell,  outside  evil  influences  will  be 
brought  to  bear.  Mischievous  relatives  and  neighbors 
will  whisper  in  the  ears  of  their  children,  saying,  “ Your 
parents  are  too  strict.”  “ Our  parents  let  us  do  as  we 
please.”  Thus  will  they  try  to  break  up  the  order  and 
discipline  of  a well  regulated  and  God-fearing  family. 
The  Lord  be  merciful  \o  such  mischievous  persons,  for 
they  seem  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  Satan  is  employing 
them  as  agents  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  work  of 
destruction.  And  it  is  against  such  mischievous  persons 
parents  should  exercise  the  most  diligent  watchfulness, 
because  their  intimacy  in  a family  render  them  the  most 
insidious  and  effective  enemies  or  antagonists  of  a well- 
regulated  household. 


176 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


a.  From  all  the  light  which  Revelation  and 
history  pour  upon  this  subject  which  I have  been 
discussing,  I am  led  to  the  conclusion  that,  to 
promote  the  highest  well-being  of  the  Church 
and  the  state  in  all  their  ramifications,  I know  of 
no  higher  duty  which  a parent  and  a citizen  can 
perform  than  the  education  of  their  children  in 
the  homestead,  under  Christian  influences. 

b.  Certainly,  there  is  none  more  healthy,  none 
more  far-reaching,  none  more  powerful  to  pro- 
duce good  rulers,  be  they  crowned  heads,  reigning 
through  life,  or  presidents,  ruling  for  a limited 
period,  none  more  powerful  to  produce  good  sub- 
jects of  an  empire  or  good  citizens  of  a republic. 

c.  In  the  near  future,  from  the  well-disciplined 
Christian  families  shall  issue  the  well-governed 
Christian  Church  and  the  well-governed  Chris- 
tian state ; both  existing,  expanding,  developing 
under  the  protection  and  guidance  of  unerring 
wisdom  and  omnipotent  goodness,  both  perpet- 
uating themselves  till  the  nations  shall  be  sum- 
moned before  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  who  is 
Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings.  To  whom  be 
glory,  honor,  and  dominion  forever  and  ever. 
Amen.1 

1 See  Isaiah,  the  whole  of  the  eleventh  chapter,  and  the 
whole  of  Psalm  lxxii. 


SACRED  SONGS . 


177 


dltkptei*  XX 


SACRED  SONGS 


HE  sacred  songs  here  given  are  all  original; 


X so,  also  is  the  music  to  which  they  are  set. 
They  were  designed  to  aid  earnest  Christians  in 
self-dedication,  and  in  the  dedication  of  their 
children  and  their  homes  to  the  service  of  God. 
The  music  was  composed,  at  my  request,  by  two 
of  the  young  itinerant  pastors  of  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  whom  I knew  to 
be  good  vocalists,  in  order  that  they  might  exer- 
cise their  gifts  as  composers. 

The  sincere  and  earnest  prayer  of  the  writer 
is  that  the  Father  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth 
may  bless  his  efforts  to  aid  thoughtful  and  ear- 
nest Christians  in  the  consecration  of  themselves, 
their  children,  and  their  homes  to  the  service  of 
Him  who  has  promised  to  bless  the  households 
of  the  godly,  and  whose  loving  kindness  and 
tender  mercies  are  “ from  everlasting  to  everlast- 
ing upon  them  that  fear  him,  and  his  righteous- 
ness unto  children’s  children.” 


12 


178 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


Personal  and  Home  Consecration.  No.  1. 

‘ As  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord.”— Joshua  xxi  v : 10. 
Bishop  D.  A.  Payne,  D.  D.,  LB.  D.  W.  G.  Alexander. 

-I N — N — |S- 


:=ta== 


*— S- 


sEs^s-rs= 


Before  earth’s  deep  foundation  was,  Thou  didst  ordain  me, Lord, 
Thy  workmanship  in  Jesus  Christ,  To  good  works  always  given, 
Then  let  me  in  thine  image  glow,  Thy  spotless  pur-i  - ty ; 

Do  - minion  have,  complete,  entire,  O’er  all  my  ransom’d  soul, 
Then  shall  my  house  he  thine  abode,  And  filled  with  light  divine, 
Here  let  the  truth,  like  noonday  sun,  Chase  darkness  far  away  ; 
How  blessed  then  my  house  shall  be,  With  holiness  and  peace  ; 


s 

To  be  made  perfect  by  thy  laws,  And  blameless  by  thy  word. 
Cre  - at  - ed  as  I was  at  first,  A new-born  heir  of  heav’n. 
Thy  love  unspeaka  - ble  be  - stow,  O Ho  - ly  Trin-i  - ty. 
Bap-tize  me  with  ce  - les-tial  fire,  And  sanc-ti  - fy  the  w hole: 
A tern  - pie  fitted  for  the  Lord, Whose  glory  there  shall  shine. 
Here  let  the  Christ — that  Holy  One— Hold  un-disput  - ed  sway. 
Here  heav’n  on  earth  we  then  shall  see  Begun  and  nev-er  cease. 

_ - . _ _ - * m -sP  J _ r ,-p-  -m-  -m-  .&-• 


m-z—bm— ha I* k* 


CHORUS. 


1_ 


S— *1— *=fSFz4=3= 


&=F 


Baptize  me,  Lord,  baptize  me,  Lord,  Baptize  my  longing  soul ; 

„ . * • _ J J - . > -m-  « . 


SS^sSi~S 

Baptize  me  with  ce  - les-tial  fire,  And  sancti-fy  the  whole. 


SACRED  SONGS. 


179 


Personal  and  Home  Consecration.  Ho.  2. 


As  for  mo  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord.”— Joshua  xxiv  : 10. 
Bishop  D.  A.  Payne,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.  J.  W.  Randolph. 


— 1*  -V-  K ** 

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1 Before  earth’s  deep  foundation  was,  Thou  didst  ordain  me, Lord, 

2.  Thy  workmanship  in  Jesus  Christ,  To  good  works  always  given, 

3.  Then  let  me  in  thine  image  glow,  Thy  spotless  pur  - i - ty  ; 

4.  Do  - minion  have,  complete,  entire,  O’er  all  my  ransom’d  soul, 

5.  Then  shall  my  house  be  thine  abode,  And  filled  with  light  divine, 

6.  Here  let  the  truth,  like  noonday  sun,  Chase  darkness  far  away  ; 

7.  How  blessed  then  my  house  shall  be,  With  ho-li-ness  and  peace ; 


-9-  m.  JL 

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pi® 


To  we  made  perfect  by  thy  laws,  And  blameless  by  thy  word. 
Cre-at  - ed  as  I was  at  first,  A new-born  heir  of  heav’n. 
Thy  love  unspeaka-ble  be-stow,  O Ho  - ly  Trin  - i - ty. 
Bap-tizeme  with  ce  - les-tial  fire,  And  sanc-ti  - fy  the  whole. 
A tem  - pie  fit  - ted  for  the  Lord,  Whose  glory  there  shall  shine. 
Here  let  the  Christ— that  Holy  One— Hold  un-disput  - ed  sway. 
Here  heav’n  on  earth  w'e  then  shall  see  Begun  and  nev-er  cease. 


m 


-M- 


»—>  - *- 


CUORUS. 


*!.  ts  : s':  * _ri> a».  :ls 


Bap  - tize  me,  Lord,  baptize  me,  Lord,  Baptize  my  longing  soul ; 


iM 


Repeat  pp. 


1"* fi?— n-[ jj— — — gjg -r-/V\ — rr  r 


u.  C " f1 

Baptize  me  with  ce  - les-tial  fire,  And  sane  - ti  - fy  the  whole. 

~ -m-  /7\  -i  -a-  ~ /r\ 


t *-  ty ^ (— I L ^ L 1__ — y ly L ZLLJ 


180 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


The  Consecrated  Home. 

“Abraham  shall  surely  become  a great  and  mighty  nation ; for  I know 
him , that  he  will  command  his  children  and  his  household  ; and  they  shall 
keep  the  way  of  the  Lord  to  do  justice  and  judgment.'’— Gen.  xviii : 18, 19. 
Bishop  D.  A.  Payne,  D.D.,  LL.D.  W.  G.  Alexander. 


r-— n 

4^-r:3--s=5-s- 

l=i — m § 

tr  -s 

T i ^ 

1.  My  house  shall  be  the  house  of  God,  My  hearth  his  altar  bright, 

2.  Lord,  let  no  e - vil  here  preside,  No  crime  thine  altar  stain: 

3.  Lord,  make  my  soul  thy  temple  pure,  Let  all  my  tho’ts  be  thine  ; 

4.  My  wealth  I con  - se-crate  to  thee,  My  sons  and  daughters  too ; 

5.  Green  as  the  firs  'mid  ice  and  snow, ’Mid  spring  and  summer  blight, 

6.  Then  when  our  work  on  earth  be  o’er,  And  all  our  victories  won, 

- r*  in 


mm 


T 


zm==x=&=ii 


-r 


mm 


My  house  be  ordered  by  his  word,  En-lightened  by  his  light. 
Let  man  - ly  vir-tues  here  a - bide,  And  Christian  graces  reign. 
Let  all  my  tal-ents  thee  a - dore,  And  worship  at  thy  shrine. 
From  all  the  vie  - es  make  them  free,  To  all  the  virtues  true. 

In  all  the  grac-es  let  them  grow  Sym-met-ri  - cal  and  bright. 
Bring  us  to  heav-en  thee  to  adore,  The  glorious  Three  in  one. 


jaja 


CHORUS. 


:q  rfcTij  qu:H  ~q~~-  ■ cd  n 

cT  m 

Oh,  for  a con-se-cr 

at-ed  home, Which  angel  guards  surround, 

L — Lj_  dU 

I I 


J 1- 


Bit. 


S==3=  EiEEi  J 


A home,  a con-se-crat-ed  home, Which  an-gel  guards  surround. 


SACRED  SONGS. 


181 


Eeveal  Thyself  to  Me. 

“He  that  hath  my  commandments  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that 
loveth  me,  and  I will  love  him,  and  will  manifest  myself  to  him.”- 
John  xiv  : 21. 

Bishop  D.  A.  Payne,  D.D.,  LL.D.  W.  G.  Alexander. 


1.  Come,  O thou  great  Emman-u  - el,  My  soul  cries  out  for  thee ; 

2.  Come ! fill  me  with  that  love  divine  Which  puri-fies  the  soul, 

3.  Wis  - er  than  serpents, — pure  as  light, — As  harmless  as  the  dove; 

4.  Our  lives  we  con-se-crate  to  thee,  In  thee  a-lone  we  trust ; 

5.  Come,  thou  great  Emmanuel,  deign  With  mortals  here  to  dwell ; 

6.  Thy  kingdom  come,  thy  will  bedone,  Hereasinheav’n  above. 


Ssih 


►zp*=zSziz|*=zE^ 


I*  U* 


.fczttz:— 


~m—gr 


Oh,  come,  and  in  my  bo-som  dwell,  Reveal  thyself  to  me. 
And  let  me  in  thine  im-age  shine,  A new  ere  - at  - ed  whole. 
Oh,  make  me  perfect  in  thy  sight!  If  not  in  deeds,— in  love. 
From  ev-’ry  e - vil  keep  us  free,  From  all  un-ho  - ly  lust. 
Come,  in  our  hab  - i - ta-tion  reign,  And  all  things  shall  be  well. 
Oh,  make  it  glorious  as  the  sun,  And  pure  as  truth  and  love. 


!-:EF 


CHORUS. 


w*  w- 

Re-veal  thyself,  reveal  thyself,  Reveal  thyself 


EE= 


=5 

to  me; 


Bit. 


^g3=t=3&E=S=5=Z 


Oh,  come,  and  in  my  bo-som  dwell,  Reveal  thyself 


mm m 


fesrirt-f ;-g : j 


182 


I) OMESTIC  ED  UCA TION. 


Hymn  for  the  Consecration  of  Children. 


Bishop  Payne. 


Bertha  B.  Wolfe, 
1 


g ....  gL:-.g 


1.  Our  chil-dren,  Lord,  to  us  weregiv’n,  To  train  on  earth  as 

2.  Our  children,  Lord,  we  give  to  thee,  In  thine  own  im  - age 
3 When  wicked  friends  would  lead  astray  Their  youthful  feet  from 

4.  Convert  them  by  thy  might-y  pow’r,  Convert  them  now  this 

5.  In  love  and  wis-dom  let  them  grow,  In  all  the  gifts  thou 


mmi 


is 


==i== 


m 


-i- 


heirs  in  heav’n ; 
let  them  be ; 
Avis  -dom’sway; 
ver  - y hour; 
canst  be  - stow  ; 

i 


This  truth  Ave  see,  and  now  a - gree,  To 
From  all  the  pow’r  of  dark-ness.keep  Their 
Oh,  shield  them  by  thy  gra-cious  pow’r,  And 
Let  thy  good  Spir  - it  from  a - bove  Fill 
Let  their  ca-reer  be  as  the  light,  A 
-m-  -m. 


p-jl 'ft. — — j^_ __ p:  n r — : — „ — 

!=Sizz3z  =Ezzz^zz=fcizti=Ji=:^ti=it— 

1 brf — L, 3 


■ft--?- 


y* — I- 

i'HOKlIS. 

-I IS 


-4 1- 


train  them,  Lord,  for  heav’n  and  thee, 
tho’t-less  souls  a- wake,  a - sleep, 

save  them  in  that  e - vil  hour, 
their  young  hearts  with  faith  and  love, 
his  - t’ry  brill -iant  in  the  right. 


Our  children,  Lord,  we 


-g-— -g— -g— . 


_t= — u — £— 


^_==t=q=- 

8z=«=^  -izL 


give  to  thee,  we  give  to  thee,  we  give 
:g-_ -g— :g--rf-— g--4-'gyg-- 


i 


to  thee ; From  all  the 


=g>'  -i  * I*  ^ • ••I?*. 


vic-es  make  them  free,  And  make  them  good  by  loving  thee. 

tt0-r g--  J.. 


t—fmz 


TU  i f 


1 J m~ 


SACRED  SONGS. 


183 


Consecration  -of  an  Infant  Son. 

Bishop  Payne.  B.  B.  Wolfe. 


z&-~\ — J 
in  faith  and  pray’r,  Thy 
a - new  his  heart;  Oh, 


J 1.  u God,  my  child  to  tliee  I give 

2.  Now,  Lord,  convert  his  soul,  Cre-ate 

3.  How  helpless  is  my  child,  To  do  that  which  is  right ; By 

4.  And  let  him  nev  er  stray  In  the 

5.  A bright  and  shining  li.s?ht,  May  all 


for-bid  - den  road,  But 
his  his  - t’ry  be;  Lord, 

£=^P=M=i 


faith-ful  ser-vant,  let  him  be  In  love,  and  ho  - ly  fear, 
make  his  bruised  spir  - it  whole,  And  liv  - ing  grace  im-part. 
na*-  ture  it  is  week  and  wild,  Oh,  help  it  with  thy  might, 

guide  him  in  the  ho  - ly  way  That  leads  to  thine  a - bode, 
make  him  mighty  in  thy  might,  To  work  for  man  and  thee. 


Then  like  the  cloudless  sun,  Which  sets  in 
rg-_ -g— r-g-— g-  T g-4-g- 


gold-en  hues, 


His 


— 1 

> -1 

1 

i 

1 -L-, 

y, 

— J 

izdiz  »zj 

5? 



-g-f — m^-T- 

— g 

S= 

&-T S— 

— Slid 

life 

j shall  be  a glo  - : 

rious  one,  His  life  shall  be  a 

I m m fi ~Sr 

9 9 

-kr  Sr 

r _/*!  m 

hr 

f L ■ |-  1 

1 L ' 

- r 4 

His  life  shall  be 

a glo  - rious  one,  His  life  shall  be 

4=pd— stea 

rn  ^ i 

_! j 

--i — rn 

^ •' J — Sr  * 

tr  r 

glo  - rious  one,  and  i 

, -J  J 9 

>ure  as 

-p-  ~ 

morn  - ing 
' 

dews. 

p^F-r-r-r^f#=^== 

— t 1 

— |5-—  -■ 

a glorious  one. 

r 

i_  LU 

184 


DOMESTIC  EDUCATION. 


Consecration  of  an  Infant  Daughter. 


Bishop  D.  A.  Payne,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


Rev.  L.  J.  Coppin. 


*S=!!!5 


1.  My  infant,  Lord,  to  thee  I glad-ly  bring,  She  is  of  earth  and 

2.  A birdling,  I would  teach  its  ti  - ny  wings  to  soar  up,  where  each 

3.  But  thou,  and  thou  alone, canst  give  it  might, To  spread  her  wings  for 

4. Theneome,oh,come,my  baby  take  and  train  For  life’s  great  work!  She 

5.  To  thee  I con-secrate  my  helpless  child,  Whose  nature  may  be 
6.  Breathe  in  her  soul  the  life— th’  ethereal  life,  Nor  hatred,  pride,  nor 

-P--  -m-  • .0. 


p(=“t=— ■ 

r r,=r=5-r— 

1 b* 5 taf — I 


yet  aheav’nly  thing;  As  the  nude  birdling  in  its  mother’s  breast, 
bright  arch-an-gel  sings,  To  join  the  songs  of  flaming  ser-aph  - im ; 

re-gions  out  of  sight;  To  nes-tle  in  the  glories  of  a throne; 
must  not  live  in  vain;  Of  mundane  birth,  a more  than  mundane  thing, 
rough, and  crook’d, and  wild, If  thou  dost  not  with  plastic  pow’r  divine, 
lust  be  ev  - er  rife  Within  her  heart;  but  as  an  an-gel,  she 


/5Y*8“1 f r® P 1 

H 

f — 

0 — m — f>-~ 

f f 1 

f — Pn 

— » — & — % — {— — | 

r! 

0 — , 

0 » iff— =— i 

-r — t — r — i 

Iff 1 s>— 

^ ^ ^ ^ 1 

r 

E2  • 

i > 


CHORUS. 


So  is  this  ba-by  on  my  anxious  breast. 

And  with  the  ransom’d  sing  th’  eternal  hymn. 

Which  none  can  reach,  but  love,  and  love  alone.  Oh,  like  an  angel 
To  thee,  O Lord,  my  ba  - by  now  I bring. 

Remould  her  in  thine  image,  yes,  in  thine. 

May  ev  - er  feel,  and  speak,  and  act  for  thee. 


^ w | 


may  she  ev-er  be  ! And  think, and  speak,  and  act  thro’  life  for  thee! 


